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L  IP  E 


RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS  AND  EXPERIENCE 


MADAME  DE  LA  MOTHE  GUYON 


TOGETHER    V/ITH 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PERSONAL  HISTORY  AND  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS 

OF 

FENELON,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CAMBRAY. 


BY  THOMAS   C.   UPHAM. 

PHOtfiasBoa  of  mbxtal  akd  moral  philosophy  in  eowdoin  C(  LLEGfl. 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES 
VOL.  II. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &     BROTHERS 

1855. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congreg3,  in  the  year  1846, 

Br  THOMAS   C.  UPHAM, 

T.i  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Diotrict  of  Maine. 


but 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I, 


Domestic  arrangements  of  Madame  Guyon.  Finds  it  necessary  to 
form  new  associations  on  her  return  to  Paris.  Character  of 
them.  Duchess  de  Beauvilliers.  Duchess  de  Chevreuse.  Char- 
acter of  the  Duke  de  Chevreuse.  Begins  to  labor  in  this  higher 
class  of  society.  Labors  of  La  Combe.  His  doctrines.  Opposi- 
tion formed  against  him  by  La  Mothe,  half-brother  of  Madame 
Guyon.  Reference  to  the  doctrines  of  Michael  de  Molinos.  The 
case  of  La  Combe  brought  before  M.  de  Harlai,  Archbishop  of 
Paris ;  and  subsequently  before  Louis  Fourteenth.  La  Combe 
writes  to  Madame  Guyon.  Is  sent  to  the  Bastille.  Sympathy 
felt  for  him  by  Madame  Guyon.     Their  correspondence 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Designs  of  those  who  had  imprisoned  La  Combe,  in  relation  to 
Madame  Guyon.  They  propose  to  her  to  leave  Paris,  and  take 
up  her  residence  at  Montargis.  She  refuses.  Desire  of  her  half- 
brother.  La  Mothe,  to  become  her  spiritual  Director.  Her  oppo- 
sition to  it.  Her  tranquillity  of  mind.  Account  of  a  remarkable 
inward  experience.  Her  labors  for  souls,  and  the  success  attend- 
ing them.  Conversation  with  La  Mothe.  His  efforts  to  compel 
her  to  leave  the  city.  Her  reply.  Her  case  brought  before  Louis 
Fourteenth.  Position  of  Louis.  Her  imprisonment,  Jan.  1688. 
in  the  Convent  of  St.  Marie.  The  treatment  she  experienced. 
Separation  from  her  daughter.    Poetry 17 

CHAPTER    EIT. 

Occupations  in  prison.  Commences  the  history  of  her  life.  Re- 
marks upon  this  work     Her  feelings  in  her  imprisonment-     Her 


IV  CONTENTS. 

labors  and  usefulness  while  there.  Letter  to  one  of  her  religious 
friends.  Visited  by  an  ecclesiastical  Judge,  and  a  Doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne.     Examined  by  them.     Her  feelings.    Poem 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Her  views  in  relation  to  the  continuance  of  her  imprisonment.  Her 
spirit  of  inward  peace  and  triumph.  Inward  trials.  Spirit  of 
forgiveness  towards  her  enemies.  Attempts  made  to  involve  her 
daughter  in  a  marriage  arrangement.  The  king  favorable  to  the 
plan,  but  requires  Madame  Guyon's  consent.  The  subject  pro- 
posed to  her  with  the  view  of  obtaining  her  consent  by  M.  Charon. 
Her  reply.  Unfavorable  state  of  things.  Writes  to  Pere  La 
Chaise.  Sickness.  Renewed  trials.  Remarks  on  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost.     A  Poem II 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  22d  of  August,  1688.  Her  mental  state  at  that  time.  Efforts 
of  her  friends  unavailing.  Madame  de  Miramion.  She  visits  the 
Convent  of  St.  Marie.  Becomes  acquainted  with  Madame  Guy  on. 
Makes  known  her  case  to  Madame  de  Maintcnon,  who  intercedes 
for  her  with  Louis  Fourteenth.  Madame  Guyon  released  from 
her  first  imprisonment,  by  the  king's  order,  in  October,  1688,  after 
being  imprisoned  eight  months.  Resides  with  Madame  de  Mira- 
mion. Marriage  of  her  daughter  with  the  Count  de  Vaux.  No- 
tices of  his  family.  Goes  to  reside  with  her  daughter.  Letters. 
A  Poem 62 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Fenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray.  His  character.  His  early  de- 
signs. Interesting  letter.  Sent  by  Louis  Fourteenth  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Poitou.  Learns  something  of  the  character  and  reli- 
gious labors  of  Madame  Guyon.  On  his  return  from  Poitou,  in 
1688,  he  passes  through  Montargis,  and  makes  some  inquiries  in 
relation  to  her.  Meets  her  for  the  first  time  at  the  country  resi 
dence  of  the  Duchess  of  Charost,  at  Beine.  They  return  to  Paris 
together.    Letters  which  passed  between  them 81 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Religious  state  of  Fenelon.  His  entire  consecration  to  God.  Per- 
plexities connected  with  his  inward  experience.     His  correspon- 


CONTENTS.  V 

dence  with  Madame  Guyon.  Interesting  letter  written  by  him  in 
answer  to  one  received  from  her.  On  the  various  and  successive 
steps  of  inward  crucifixion.  Of  unfavorable  and  selfish  habits 
of  the  will,  and  of  the  necessity  of  correcting  them.  Of  the  prin- 
ciple of  faith  in  its  relation  to  reason 97 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Remarks  upon  Fenelon.  Letter  from  Madame  Guyon  to  him.  Her 
remarks  on  faith.  Remarks  on  the  disappropriation  or  entire 
consecration  of  the  will.  Incident  in  her  past  experience  illustra- 
tive of  the  doctrine  of  faith.  Fenelon  appointed,  in  August,  1689, 
preceptor  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Character  of  the  Duke.  Of 
the  labors  of  Fenelon  in  his  education.  Remarks  on  the  writings 
of  Fenelon.  Of  the  influence  of  Madame  Guyon  upon  him. 
Her  letter  to  him  on  his  appointment.  Revival  of  religion  at 
Dijon.    A  Poem • 107 

CHAPTER  IX. 
1692.  Labors  of  Madame  Guyon  with  others.  Interviews  with 
Madame  de  Maintenon.  Unhappiness  of  the  latter.  Establish- 
ment of  the  Institution  of  St.  Cyr.  Interviews  there  between 
Madame  de  Maintenon  and  Madame  Guyon.  Labors  of  Ma- 
dame Guyon  with  the  young  ladies  of  the  Institution  of  St.  Cyr. 
Letters  to  them.  Madame  Guyon  visited  by  Sister  Malin,  resi- 
dent at  Ham.  Public  attention  thus  directed  to  her  again. 
Her  interview  with  the  learned  Peter  Nicole.  Interview  with 
Monsieur  Boileau,  brother  of  the  poet  of  that  name.  Writes  at 
his  suggestion  the  small  work,  entitled,  A  Concise  Apology  for 
the  Short  Method  of  Prayer.  Poisoned  by  one  of  her  servants. 
Temporary  concealment.  Friendship  of  M.  Fouquet.  His  sick- 
ness and  death 122 

CHAPTER  X. 

Efforts  made  in  her  behalf.  She  objects  to  the  course  which  her 
friends  propose  to  take.  Bossuet,  bishop  of  Mcaux.  Remarks 
on  his  character  and  position.  He  becomes  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
gress of  the  new  doctrine.  Seeks  an  interview  with  Madame 
Guyon,  at  Paris,  in  September,  1693.  Second  interview  on  the 
30th  of  Jan.  1694.  Some  account  of  the  conversation  which 
passed  between  them.  Effect  of  it  upon  Madame  Guyon.  Cor- 
respondence between  them.     Attacked  with  a  fever 140 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

1695.  Opposition  to  her  doctrines  continues.  Louis  Fourteenth 
appoints  three  commissioners,  Bossuet,  Do  Noailles,  and  Tronson, 
to  examine  them.  Their  character.  She  prepares  and  lays  be- 
fore them  the  work,  entitled.  Justifications.  Account  of  the  first 
meeting  of  the  commissioners.  Exclusion  of  the  Duke  of  Chev- 
reuse  from  the  meeting.  Course  taken  by  Bossuet.  She  has  in- 
terviews subsequently  with  the  Bishop  of  Chalons  and  Monsieur 
Tronson.  No  condemnation  passed  upon  her  at  this  time.  Of 
the  articles  of  Issy.  She  retires  for  a  time  to  the  Convent  of  St. 
Mary  in  Meaux.  Her  remarks  on  a  charge  of  hypocrisy  made 
against  her.     A  Poem   173 

CHAPTER  XII. 

1695.  Sickness.  Visited  by  Bossuet  at  the  convent.  Singular 
conversation  between  them.  Reference  to  a  sermon  of  Bossuet. 
Madame  Guyon  receives  recommendations  from  him  and  from 
the  prioress  and  nuns  of  the  convent.  Leaves  Meaux  for  Paris. 
Excitement  occasioned  by  her  return.  Conceals  herself  for  five 
months.  Is  seized  by  order  of  the  king,  and  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Vincennes.     State  of  her  mind.     Poems  186 

CPIAPTER  XIII. 

1696.  Bossuet  commences  writing  on  the  subject  of  the  inward  life. 
Peelings  with  which  he  wrote.  His  book,  entitled,  Instructions  on 
Prayer,  approved  by  the  Bishop  of  Chartres  and  the  Archbishop 
of  Paris.  Eenelon  refuses  to  give  his  approbation  of  it.  Writes 
to  Madame  de  Maintenon,  giving  his  reasons  for  his  refusal. 
Origin  of  the  work,  entitled,  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints.  Some 
remarks  upon  it. 

MAXIMS   Ol?   THE    SAINTS. 

(The  Maxims  of  the  Saints  ;  —  or  Maxims  having  relation  to  the 
experiences  of  the  Inward  Life  and  the  doctrines  of  Pure  Love,  by 
Eenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray:  —  the  sentiment  or  substance 

jiven] 201 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1697.  Reference  to  the  appointment  of  Fenelon  as  archbishop  of 
Cambray.  Importance  attached  to  his  opinions  and  influence. 
Opinions  of  some  distinguished  men  on  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints. 


CONTENTS.  Vil 

Decided  course  of  Bossuet.  Feelings  of  Louis  Fourteenth  to- 
wards Fenelon.  Characters  of  Bossuet  and  Fenelon  as  com- 
pared with  each  other.  The  true  question  in  controversy  between 
them.  Notices  of  some  of  the  more  important  publications  of 
Bossuet.  Remarks  on  the  work  entitled  A  History  of  Quietism. 
Correspondence  with  the  Abbe  de  Ranee  254 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1697-1699.  The  subject  of  controversy  brought  before  the  Pope, 
Innocent  Twelfth.  He  appoints  commissioners  to  examine  it.  Of 
the  divisions  which  existed  in  regard  to  it.  The  decision  in  rela- 
tion to  the  book  delayed.  Dissatisfaction  of  the  king  of  France. 
He  writes  a  letter  to  the  Pope.  He  banishes  Fenelon.  Letter  of 
Fenelon  to  Madame  de  Maintenon.  Interest  expressed  in  the 
behalf  of  Fenelon  by  the  duke  of  Burgundy.  Conversation  of 
the  king  with  the  duke  de  Beauvilliers.  His  treatment  of  the 
Abbe  Beaumont  and  others.  Interesting  letter  of  Fenelon  to  the 
duke  de  Beauvilliers.  Second  letter  of  the  king  to  the  pope. 
Condemnation  of  Fenelon 278 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Character  of  Fenelon.  Labors  in  his  diocese.  His  method  of 
preaching.  His  visits  among  his  people.  Of  the  peasant  who 
lost  his  cow.  The  feelings  of  Fenelon,  when  the  bishop's  palace 
at  Cambray  was  burnt.  His  conduct  during  a  time  of  war.  Re- 
spect in  which  he  was  held  by  the  belligerent  parties.  His  hospi- 
tality. Extract  from  the  Chevalier  Ramsay.  Of  the  spirit  of 
Quietude  or  Quietism,  which  was  ascribed  to  him.  Meditations 
on  the  infant  Jesus.  Of  his  forbearance  and  meekness  in  relation 
to  others.  His  views  on  religious  toleration.  Feelings  in  rela- 
tion to  his  separation  from  his  friends.  His  correspondence  with 
the  duke  of  Burgundy.     His  death  292 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Of  the  influence  of  Madame  Guyon  upon  Fenelon.  Remarks  upon 
woman's  influence.  Madame  Guyon  transferred  from  the  prison 
of  Vincennes  to  that  of  Vaugirard.  Her  religious  efforts  there 
Interference  of  the  archbishop  of  Paris.  Feelings  of  the  king 
towards  Madame  Guyon.  His  treatment  of  some  members  of  the 
Seminar}'  of  St.  Cyr.  He  removes  a  son  of  Madame  Guyon  from 
A* 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

his  office  of  lieutenant  in  the  king's  guards.  Proceedings  of 
Godet  Marais,  bishop  of  Chartres.  Feelings  of  Madame  Guyon 
in  relation  to  Fenelon.  Visited  in  prison  by  the  archbishop  of 
Paris,  who  reads  to  her  a  letter  from  La  Combe.  Her  feelings. 
A  Poem 308 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1698.  Transferred  from  Vaugirard  to  the  Bastille.  Some  account 
of  the  Bastille.  Extract  from  a  letter  of  Madame  Guyon.  Man 
of  the  iron  mask.  Madame  Guyon's  maid-servant  imprisoned 
in  the  Bastille.  Her  personal  history.  Her  religious  character. 
Her  letters.  Her  death.  Situation  of  Madame  Guyon.  The 
religious  support  which  she  experienced    318 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

On  the  nature  of  pure  love.  The  advocates  of  this  doctrine  called 
Quietists.  Of  those  traits  of  religious  character  which  seem  to 
be  connected  with  the  origin  of  the  name.  Of  the  meekness  and 
simplicity  of  spirit,  which  characterize  the  true  Quietist.  The 
Quietist  in  affliction.  The  Quietist  in  action.  The  Quietist  when 
suffering  injury.  The  Quietist  in  prayer.  Of  other  religious 
traits  which  characterize  him.  Extracts  from  the  writings  of 
Molinos.     Selections  from  the  poems  of  Madame  Guyon  337 

CHAPTER  XX. 

On  the  religion  of  prisons.  Madame  Guyon  released  in  1702,  after 
four  years'  imprisonment  in  the  Bastille.  Banished  during  the 
remainder  of  her  life  to  the  city  of  Blois.  Her  state  of  health. 
Visited  at  Blois  by  many  persons,  foreigners  as  well  as  others. 
Publication  of  her  Autobiography.  Her  feelings  towards  her 
enemies.  Extract  from  Thauler.  Her  religious  state  at  this 
time.  Letters  written  near  the  close  of  her  life.  Remarks  on 
her  character.  Address  to  her  spiritual  children.  Sickness  and 
death 361 

NoTB 379 


LIFE  AND   RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE 


MADAME    6UY0N. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Domestic  arrangements  of  Madame  Guy  on.  Finds  it  necessary  to 
form  new  associations  on  her  return  to  Paris.  Character  of 
them.  Duchess  de  Beauvilliers.  Duchess  de  Chevreuse.  Char- 
acter of  the  Duke  de  Cliev reuse.  Begins  to  labor  in  this  higher 
class  of  society.  Labors  of  La  Combe.  His  doctrines.  Opposi- 
tion formed  against  him  by  La  Mothe,  half-brother  of  Madame 
Guyon.  Reference  to  the  doctrines  of  Michael  de  Molinos.  The 
case  of  La  Combe  brought  before  M.  de  Harlai,  Archbishop  of 
Paris;  and  subsequently  before  Louis  Fourteenth.  La  Combe 
writes  to  Madame  Guyon.  Js  sent  to  the  Bastille.  Sympathy 
felt  for  him  by  Madame  Guyon.     Their  correspondence. 

Of  the  domestic  history  of  Madame  Guyon,  for  some  years 
subsequent  to  her  return  to  Paris,  we  know  but  little.  She 
lured  a  house  in  the  city ;  and  once  more  collected,  together 
her  little  family,  consisting  of  her  daughter  and  two  sons, 
with  such  domestics  as  she  thought  it  necessary,  to  employ. 
Her  established  reputation  for  piety  necessarily  separated 
her  from  fashionable  society ;  in  which,  indeed,  she  no  longer 
had  any  disposition  to  mingle.  But  her  house  was  open  to 
her  friends  and  relatives,  some  of  whom  were  persons  of 
distinction,  and  especially  to  persons  of  piety  of  all  classes 
and  ranks. 

VOL.  II.  1 


2  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

2.  Many  of  those,  with  whom  she  had  been  acquainted 
before  she  left  Paris,  had  now  gone.     Friends  and  enemies 
were  no  more.    Her  own  circumstances  were  much  altered 
and  it  was  almost  a  matter  of  necessity,  that  the  associations, 
which  she  was  now  called  to  form,  would  be  new. 

Society  is  a  law  of  nature.  It  must  be  a  very  marked 
combination  of  providential  circumstances,  which  will  author 
ize  a  man  to  separate  himself,  in  any  considerable  degree, 
from  his  fellow-men.  But  in  forming  her  new  associations, 
her  religious  principles  required  her  to  exclude  every  selfish 
suggestion,  and  to  form  her  judgments  under  the  indications 
of  that  ever-present  Providence  which  is  the  true  light  to 
the  consecrated  mind.  She  never  forgot  the  humble  and  the 
poor ;  it  was  the  dictate  of  her  natural  as  well  as  of  her  Chris- 
tian sympathies,  to  love  them  and  to  strive  to  do  them  good ; 
but  the  indications  of  that  Providence  which  had  given  her 
talent  and  personal  influence,  as  well  as  deep  piety,  seemed 
to  call  her  to  labor  with  another  class  of  people ;  a  class 
more  elevated  in  the  view  of  the  world,  but  not  easily  acces- 
sible to  religious  influences. 

3.  It  is  true,  not  "  many  mighty  and  not  many  noble  are 
called."  Their  position  is  in  some  respects  averse  to  the 
reception  of  the  humbling  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  And  yet 
the  historian  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  informs  us,  that  in 
the  city  of  Berea  there  were  some  "honorable  women" 
women  who  held  a  high  position  in  society,  and  that  in 
Thessalonica  also  there  were  not  "a  few  of  the  chief  women," 
who  believed. 

Among  the  acquaintances  which  Madame  Guyon  formed 
at  this  time,  we  may  properly  mention  here  the  Duchess  of 
Beauvilliers.  Of  this  distinguished  lady,  as  well  as  of  hei 
husband,  we  have  some  account  in  the  Memoirs  of  St.  Simon, 
who  has  given  sketches,  apparently  drawn  with  much  exact- 
ness, of  many  eminent  persons  of  the  age  of  Louis  Four- 


OP   MADAME   GUYON.  3 

teenth.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the  great  Colbert.  Inherit- 
ing no  small  share  of  her  father's  intellectual  power,  she 
was  one  of  those  rare  women  who  combine  fervor  of  piety 
with  strength  of  intellect.  Placed  by  her  descent  and  her 
marriage  in  an  eminent  position  in  French  society,  she  was 
still  more  truly  eminent  by  her  faith  in  God,  her  alms  and 
good  works.  With  this  lady  Madame  Guyon  formed  an 
acquaintance  soon  after  her  return  from  Italy  and  Grenoble; 
through  the  instrumentality,  I  suppose,  of  her  sister,  the 
Duchess  of  Chevreuse,  with  whom  Madame  Guyon  seems  to 
have  become  acquainted  at  a  little  earlier  period. 

4.  The  Duchess  of  Chevreuse  resided  a  small  distance 
out  of  Paris.  Madame  Guyon  visited  her  soon  after  her 
return  ;  and  there  she  met  with  a  number  of  other  persons, 
drawn  together  by  that  instinct  of  piety  which  never  fails 
to  seek  the  company  of  those  who  are  characterized  by 
similar  dispositions.  It  was  not  far  from  this  time,  and  per- 
haps at  this  very  meeting,  that  Madame  Guyon,  animated 
by  the  spirit  of  piety  which  was  like  a  continual  flame  in 
her  bosom,  formed  a  little  association  of  ladies  of  rank, 
among  whom  were  the  Duchess  of  Beauvilliers,  the  Duchess 
of  Bethune,  and  the  Countess  of  Guiche,  with  whom  she 
met  from  time  to  time  for  religious  objects.  It  was  inter- 
esting to  see  some  of  the  most  distinguished  ladies  of  the 
capital  of  France  recognizing  the  truths  of  religion,  and  re- 
joicing in  the  experimental  power  of  piety, — ladies,  at  whose 
feet  fortune,  or  more  properly  and  truly,  Providence,  had 
scattered  the  choicest  flowers  of  this  world,  in  order  to  see 
whether  they  would  take  the  life  of  God  with  its  present 
trials  and  its  future  triumphs,  or  the  pleasures  and  honors  of 
the  world  for  a  season.  They  made  the  better  choice ;  like 
one  commemorated  with  just  commendation  in  the  Bible, 
who  preferred  the  afflictions  resulting  from  the  service  of 
God,  to  the  world's  pleasures  ;   and  the  reproach  of  Christ 


4  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

to  those  treasures  and  honors  of  Egypt,  which  would  have 
flowed  in  upon  him,  had  he  chosen  to  remain  as  the  unbe- 
lieving son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter. 

5.  These  ladies,  following  the  laws  of  the  human  mind, 
which  are  as  applicable  in  religious  experience  as  in  secular 
experience,  and  which  prompt  us  to  inquire  for  those  whose 
lives  are  associated  with  the  principles  we  love,  knew  what 
individuals  in  France  had  a  character  for  true  and  eminent 
piety.  They  were  not  ignorant,  therefore,  of  the  reputation 
of  Madame  Guyon.  That  which  was  spoken  comparatively 
in  secret  was  uttered  afterwards  upon  the  house-tops.  The 
voice  which  was  uttered  at  the  foot  of  the  Jura  mountains 
and  the  Alps,  in  the  cottages  of  the  poor,  and  amid  the  soli- 
tary and  inaccessible  cliffs  of  the  Chartreuse,  was  repeated 
from  province  to  province,  till  it  reached  the  high  and  public 
places  of  Paris.  It  was  but  natural,  therefore,  that  they 
should  wish  to  know  her,  to  invite  her  to  their  little  assem- 
blies, and  to  allow  her  that  influence  to  which  her  mental 
power  and  her  piety  entitled  her.  And  it  was  from  this 
time,  that  we  find  her  name  associated,  either  in  union  or  in 
opposition,  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished  names  of 
France. 

6.  The  terms  of  commendation,  in  which  we  have  spoken 
of  the  Duchess  of  Beauvilliers,  would  apply  with  but  slight 
variation  to  her  accomplished  and  pious  sister,  the  Duchess 
of  Chevreuse.  The  husbands  of  these  two  ladies,  who  held 
some  of  the  highest  offices  in  the  state,  sympathized  with 
their  wives  in  their  religious  tendencies.  They  formed  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  Madame  Guyon ;  made  them- 
selves familiar  with  her  religious  views  and  experience  ; 
and  valued  and  sought  her  society.  But  this  could  not' 
easily  have  taken  place,  considering  the  position  of  the  par- 
ties, if  she  had  been  a  person  of  inferior  talent,  of  rude  and 
unpolished  manners,  or  of  doubtful  piety.     The  character 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  5 

of  those  who  sought  her  company  shows  the  estimation  in 
which  she  was  held,  and  is  an  evidence  of  her  claims  to  it. 
The  individuals  who  have  just  been  referred  to  were  among 
the  most  distinguished  persons  in  France  at  that  time.  In 
the  anonymous  Life  of  Fenelon,  published  at  the  Hague  in 
1723,*  we  find  the  Duke  of  Chevreuse  spoken  of  in  the  fol- 
lowing favorable  terms : 

"  He  had  a  rare  stock  of  knowledge,  an  easy  eloquence, 
and  a  mind  so  fertile  in  resources  as  to  be  capable  of  re- 
mounting in  every  thing  to  the  first  principles,  and  of  forming 
the  greatest  designs.  He  had  also  the  courage  to  execute  the 
designs  which  he  formed.  In  his  temper  he  was  sweet  and 
affable ;  in  his  manners,  polite  and  unaffected.  He  was 
naturally  a  person  of  great  vivacity  of  spirit ;  but  had  such 
a  control  of  himself  that  he  always  appeared  equal  and  calm. 
He  lived  in  his  family  with  his  children  like  a  good  friend, 
as  well  as  a  good  father.  In  a  word,  piety  had  united  in 
him  the  virtues  human  and  divine,  to  such  a  degree,  that  he 
was  at  the  same  time  a  good  Christian,  a  good  citizen,  and  a . 
perfect  friend." 

7.  Of  another  of  the  persons  whom  we  have  mentioned 
as  having  established  an  acquaintance  and  friendship  with 
Madame  Guyon,  a  learned  writer,  M.  de  Bausset,  bishop  of 
Alais,  speaks  as  follows  :  "  The  spirit  of  party  may  refuse 
to  the  Duke  de  Beauvilliers  the  character  of  a  great  genius, 
because  his  extreme  modesty  and  his  natural  reserve  ren- 
dered him  habitually  circumspect ;  but  M.  de  St.  Simon, 
whom  no  one  will  accuse  of  being  prodigal  of  praise,  and 
who  lived  in  habits  of  intimacy  with  the  Duke  de  Beauvil- 
liers, says  of  him  that  he  had  a  very  superior  mind?  This 
person,  as  well  as  the  Duke  de  Chevreuse,  sustained  an 


*  Ascribed  to  the  Chevalier  Kamsay,  author  of  the  Travels  of  Cyrus. 
VOL.  II.  1  * 


6  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

important  position,  and  was  in  high  credit  at  the  court  of 
Louis  Fourteenth.  It  was  at  the  suggestion  and  request  of 
Beauvilliers,  who  had  nine  daughters,  in  whose  moral  and 
intellectual  development  he  took  a  deep  interest,  that  Fen- 
elon  wrote  his  celebrated  Treatise  on  the  Education  of 
Daughters.* 

8.  It  was  into  this  class  of  society,  of  whom  the  individu- 
als we  have  mentioned  may  be  regarded  as  examples,  that 
Madame  Guyon  was  introduced.  That  unseen  Providence 
which  gives  to  each  one  his  talent  and  his  place,  his  capacity 
for  action,  and  his  opportunities  of  suffering,  placed  her  in  this 
important  and  conspicuous  position.  These  distinguished 
persons,  who  were  above  her  in  worldly  rank,  recognizing, 
as  they  obviously  did,  the  spiritual  relation  which  God  had 
established  between  them,  were  ready  to  take  their  appro- 
priate position  in  things  which  related  to  the  religious  life, 
and  to  become  her  disciples.  It  was  the  dictate  of  a  sound 
discretion  and  piety,  which  wished  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  trials  of  her  personal  history,  and  to  avail  itself  of 
the  wisdom  of  her  higher  experience.  This  was  now  her 
field  of  labor,  which  she  cultivated  with  that  simplicity  and 
fervor  of  spirit,  which  had  characterized  her  under  other 
circumstances. 

Nor  was  it  this  class  of  persons  alone,  of  those  who  were 
elevated  somewhat  above  the  common  rank,  who  valued  and 
6ought  her  society.  The  aged  and  pious  Abbe  de  Gaumont, 
whose  whole  life  had  been  one  of  prayer,  visited  her  house. 
And.  she  had  the  satisfaction  of  numbering  among  her  per- 
sonal friends  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  M.  Bureau,  a  man 
distinguished  for  learning  and  piety.  It  was  thus  extensive- 
ly and  signally,  that  her  influence,  or  rather  that  divine  in- 


*  Bausset's  Life  of  Fenelon,  vol.  i.  p.  99. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  7 

fluence,  which  spoke  and  developed  itself  through  her  instru- 
mentality was  felt  in  so  short  a  time. 

9.  In  the  meantime,  La  Combe,  who  sustained  to  her  the 
ecclesiastical  relation  of  Spiritual  Director,  labored,,  in  differ- 
ent situations  and  under  different  circumstances,  to  effect  the 
same  great  objects.  The  religious  views  and  experience  of 
La  Combe,  which  had  received  their  direction  from  Madame 
Guyon,  had  become  the  dearer  to  him  the  longer  he  lived ; 
arid  he  was  correctly  understood  as  laboring  in  the  same 
great  cause  of  inward  and  spiritual  religion,  in  distinction 
from  the  merely  outward  and  ceremonial,  to  which  she  had 
given  her  life.  His  efforts,  originating  in  sincere  and  fer- 
vent belief,  and  sustained  by  a  high  degree  of  learning  and 
eloquence,  were  not  without  effect.  So  that,  in  view  of  the 
religious  labors  which  were  prosecuted  among  different 
classes,  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich — the  lowly  as  well  as  the 
noble  —  might  be  said  to  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them. 
This  state  of  things,  characterized  as  it  was  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  views  which  were  considered  by  many  as  very  novel, 
could  not  long  exist  without  exciting  much  attention.  It 
soon  began  to  be  said  in  certain  quarters,  as  it  was  said  under 
other  circumstances  in  earlier  times,  "those  that  have  turned 
the  world  upside  down  have  come  hither  also."  In  a  city 
like  that  of  Paris,  where  the  attention  of  men  was  continually 
arrested,  then  as  it  is  now,  by  a  thousand  novelties  which 
have  the  least  possible  connection  with  religion,  the  impres- 
sion must  have  been  profound  and  extensive,  in  order  to 
have  attracted  so  much  notice  in  so  short  a  time.  A  year 
had  not  elapsed  before  the  eye  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
authority  was  sternly  fixed  upon  those  who  were  regarded 
as  introducing  opinions  adverse  to  the  received  doctrines 
and  practices  of  the  Catholic  church. 

10.  What  the  doctrines  were  which  they  advocated,  can 
be  inferred,  I  suppose,  from  what  has  already  been  said, 


8  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

from  time  to  time,  in  this  work.  Agreeing,  to  that  extent, 
with  some  of  the  Catholic  writers  and  sects,  as  well  as  with 
the  Protestants  generally,  they  made  faith  the  foundation 
of  the  religious  life.  They  did  not  object,  it  is  true,  to  cere- 
monial observances  and  austerities  when  carried  to  a  certain 
degree  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  regarded  them  at  times  as  ex- 
erting a  favorable  influence  in  restraining  the  appetites,  and 
in  breaking  up  injurious  habits,  which  had  been  previously 
formed.  But  they  did  object  very  strenuously  to  any  system 
of  observances  and  worship,  to  any  and  every  form  and  de- 
gree of  labor  and  suffering,  as  having  any  atoning  merit, 
and  as  furnishing  a  justification  for  past  sins ;  insisting  that 
salvation  is  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  by  faith  alone. 
This  was  one  ground  of  offence  ;  b>ut  it  was  another  and  still 
greater,  when  they  added,  that  Christ,  received  by  faith,  can 
save  not  only  from  the  penalty  of  past  sins,  but  from  the 
polluting  and  condemning  power  of  present  sins ;  that  he 
has  power  not  only  to  make  us  holy,  but  to  keep  us  holy. 

That  is  to  say,  they  maintained,  that  he  who  is  in  Christ 
is  not  only  a  new  creature  in  the  mitigated  sense  of  the 
terms,  but  is  so  far  and  so  truly  a  new  creature,  that  he 
may,  by  the  grace  of  God,  love  God  without  selfishness  and 
with  entire  purity ;  in  other  words,  instead  of  being  in  the 
mixed  life  of  faith  and  doubt,  of  love  and  aversion,  may  love 
Him  with  all  the  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself.  They 
maintained  further,  that  this  not  only  may  be,  but  that  it 
ought  to  be  \  that  it  not  only  can  be,  but  that  it  will  be  ; 
that  sanctification  is  the  appropriate  and  true  end  of  justifi- 
cation ;  and  that  the  merciful  intentions  of  the  Infinite  Mind 
are  not  satisfied,  and  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  be 
satisfied,  by  merely  redeeming  us  from  hell,  without  making 
us  holy.  They  proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  sanctification, 
therefore,  as  the  true  complement  and  result  of  that  of  justi- 
fication.     Regarding   sin  as   synonymous  with  selfishness, 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  9 

they  made  terrible  war  upon  the  life  of  self  in  all  its  forms. 
They  had  strong  hope  ;  but  not  so  much  in  man's  works,  as 
in  God's  faithfulness  to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  Him. 
They  delighted  in  the  idea  of  a  triumphant  gospel,  of  a  holy 
world  made  holy  by  faith  in  Him  who  has  power  to  make 
holy,  of  a  New  Jerusalem  descending  from  heaven,  of  a  true 
civitas  Dei. 

11.  A  little  more  than  a  year  had  elapsed,  when  La 
Combe,  whose  views  were  such  as  we  have  now  represented, 
and  whose  faithful  preaching,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
corresponded  with  what  he  believed,  was  arrested,  and  shut 
up  in  the  Bastille.  It  is  painful  to  relate,  that  an  agent  in 
this  transaction,  so  much  at  variance  with  the  principles 
of  religious  freedom  and  charity,  was  the  half-brother  of 
Madame  Guyon  herself,  who  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Father  La  Mothe,  the  person  to  whom  we  now  refer,  was 
himself  a  priest,  belonging  to  the  order  of  the  Barnabites, 
of  which  La  Combe  was  a  member.  But  this  circumstance, 
which  seemed  to  imply  the  probability  at  least  of  friendship 
and  confidence,  had  no  effect  to  turn  him  from  his  purpose. 
Jealous  of  the  relation  which  La  Combe  sustained  to  his 
sister  as  her  spiritual  Director,  and  offended  at  the  religious 
sympathy  which  existed  between  them,  he  became  an  ene- 
my and  a  persecutor. 

Madame  Guyon  intimates,  that  one  cause  of  La  Mothe's 
jealousy  of  La  Combe  was  the  uncommon  popularity  of  the 
latter  as  a  preacher.  Perhaps  candor  would  suggest,  if  he 
was  jealous  of  his  popularity,  he  was  also  doubtful  of  his 
doctrines,  and  feared  their  consequences.  At  any  rate,  such 
was  his  professed  conviction.  He  expressed  his  belief,  and 
probably  with  some  degree  of  sincerity,  that  La  Combe  wa9 
heretical ;  a  charge  which  had  previously  been  brought 
against  him  in  other  places,  and  for  which  he  had  already 
suffered. 


10  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

12.  It  was  but  a  short  time  before  this,  that  the  doctrines 
of  Michael  de  Molinos,  whom  we  have  already  mentioned 
as  having  appeared,  if  not  as  a  separatist,  yet  as  a  religious 
reformer  in  Italy,  had  been  subjected  to  an  ecclesiastical 
examination,  and  had  been  condemned.  Sixty  propositions 
were  selected  from  his  writings,  which  were  pronounced 
erroneous  and  heretical.  La  Mothe  and  others,  who  were 
associated  with  him,  took  the  ground,  that  the  sentiments 
of  La  Combe  were  similar  to  those  of  Molinos,  and  were 
equally  dangerous.  What  the  sentiments  of  Molinos  were, 
can  perhaps  be  conjectured  from  a  remark  which  we  find  in 
the  Memoirs  of  D'Angeau.     It  is  this. 

"  1685,  July  10th.  —  I  am  informed,  that  a  Jesuit,  named 
Molinos,  has  been  put  into  the  Inquisition  at  Rome,  accused 
of  wishing  to  become  the  chief  of  the  new  sect  called  Quiet- 
ists,  whose  principles  are  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
Puritans  in  England." 

Now,  it  is  well  understood,  that  faith,  considered  as  the 
foundation  and  support  of  the  inward  religious  life,  was  a 
leading  and  favorite  idea  with  the  Puritans.  I  have  no 
doubt,  that  D'Angeau  might  have  correctly  added,  that  Mo- 
linos went  further  than  was  common  among  the  puritanical 
writers ;  making  faith  the  foundation  not  only  of  justifica- 
tion but  of  sanctification,  and  insisting  also  upon  the  entire 
sanctification  of  the  heart,  resting  upon  faith  as  its  basis  in 
distinction  from  mere  works,  as  the  duty  and  privilege  of 
every  Christian.  As  this  doctrine  had  been  condemned  as 
heretical  by  the  Romish  ecclesiastical  authorities,  it  was 
urged  by  La  Mothe  and  others,  that  the  doctrine  preached 
by  La  Combe,  which  was  very  similar,  should  be  regarded 
in  the  same  light. 

.  13.  It  was  upon  this  basis,  that  a  hostile  party,  headed 
by  La  Mothe,  commenced  and  prosecuted  measures  against 
La  Combe,  which  terminated  in  the  manner  that  has  been 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  11 

mentioned.  They  appeared  before  M.  de  Harlai,  the  arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  a  man  of  great  capacity  and  energy.  The 
accounts,  which  are  given  of  the  private  character  and 
habits  of  the  archbishop,  are  various  and  conflicting.  Of  his 
zeal  for  the  stability  of  the  Catholic  church,  with  the  views 
which  then  prevailed  in  the  church,  and  as  it  then  was,  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  He  examined  the  subject  with  a  prompt- 
ness and  personal  interest  which  showed  that  dissenters 
from  the  established  views  had  but  little  to  expect  from 
him ;  and  having  made  up  his  mind  that  the  case  was  one 
which  required  something  more  than  mere  ecclesiastical 
disapproval  and  interdiction,  he  laid  it  before  his  sovereign, 
Louis  Fourteenth. 

14.  During  these  proceedings  attempts  were  made,  as  is 
usual  in  such  times  of  excitement,  not  only  to  take  away  the 
personal  liberty  of  La  Combe,  but  to  injure  and  destroy  his 
religious  and  moral  character.  These  attempts,  which  in- 
volved to  some  extent  the  high  character  and  reputation  of 
Madame  Guyon,  signally  failed.  But  he  knew  too  well  the 
dispositions  of  his  opposers,  and  especially  the  exceeding 
jealousy  of  the  king  in  relation  to  every  thing  which  looked 
like  a  deviation  from  the  established  faith,  to  take  much 
encouragement.  In  a  letter,  which  he  wrote  to  Madame 
Guyon  at  this  time,  he  says,  "  The  times  look  heavy.  The 
storm  gathers  in  the  sky.  I  know  not  when  the  thunder 
which  threatens  me  will  fall.  But  recognizing,  as  I  do,  the 
divine  will  in  all  my  trials,  I  am  confident  that  all  will  be 
welcome  to  me  from  the  hand  of  God."  Not  long  after, 
meeting  her  on  some  occasion,  he  said,  "  I  feel  entirely  re- 
signed to  those  reproaches  and  ignominies,  which  I  have  no 
doubt  that  I  am  about  to  suffer.  I  am  desirous  that  you 
should  have  the  same  feeling  of  resignation ;  and  it  is  my 
wish,  therefore,  that  you  should  sacrifice  me  to  God,  as  I  am 
going  to  sacrifice  myself  to  him." 


12  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

15.  Louis  Fourteenth  was  a  man  endowed  with  many 
excellent  and  kingly  qualities.  Whatever  may  have  been 
his  errors,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  speak  of  him  in  any  other 
than  terms  of  respect.  But  his  attachment  to  the  Catholic 
church,  or  perhaps  we  should  rather  say,  to  the  Catholic 
church  according  to  his  particular  views  of  it,  was  too  strong, 
if  not  too  prejudiced,  to  be  always  consistent  with  a  proper 
conception  of  the  truth,  and  with  a  just  exercise  of  Christian 
charity.  He  listened  patiently  to  the  statements  which  were 
made  against  La  Combe  ;  but,  so  far  as  any  thing  appears, 
without  giving  the  accused  an  opportunity  to  answer  them. 
Believing  him  to  be  heretical,  and  of  course  dangerous  to 
the  established  religion,  he  availed  himself  of  his  position  as 
king  of  France,  to  give  that  aid  to  the  church,  which  seemed 
to  him  to  be  required.  Accordingly,  the  well-known  instru- 
ment of  tyranny,  the  lettre  de  cachet,  which  preceded  cases 
of  imprisonment  under  such  circumstances,  was  issued.  La 
Combe  was  suddenly  arrested  when  at  dinner,  on  the  3d  of 
October,  1687,  and  immediately  shut  up  in  the  Bastille. 

16.  It  was  not  enough  to  put  an  end  to  his  labors  as  a 
preacher,  in  which  he  had  now  been  faithfully  employed  in 
Paris  for  little  more  than  a  year.  His  work,  entitled  An 
Analysis  of  Mental  Prayer,  written  originally  in  Latin  and 
subsequently  translated  into  French,  was  submitted  to  the 
Inquisition  at  Rome,  and  was  condemned  by  a  formal  de- 
cree, issued  not  long  after.  How  long  La  Combe  remained 
in  the  Bastille,  that  place  of  terror,  which  has  been  well  de- 
scribed as  the  "  abode  of  broken  hearts,"  is  not  precisely 
known.  "In  one  of  the  dungeons  of  that  great  prison," 
says  Madame  Guyon,  "  he  was  incarcerated  for  life.  But 
his  enemies  having  heard,  that  the  officers  of  the  Bastille 
esteemed  him  and  treated  him  kindly,  they  took  measures  to 
have  him  removed  to  a  much  worse  place."  He  was  sent 
after  a  time,  undoubtedly  by  the  direction  of  the  king,  to  a 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  13 

place  of  confinement  in  the  town  of  Lourde,  in  the  distant 
department  of  the  Upper  Pyrenees.  He  was  subsequently 
imprisoned  in  the  well-known  castle  of  Vincennes  near 
Paris,  and  at  a  later  period  was  transferred  to  the  castle  of 
Oleron,  in  the  isle  of  Oleron.  His  imprisonments  in  various 
places,  as  I  have  remarked  in  another  part  of  this  work,  ex- 
tended through  twenty-seven  years.  Thus  terminated  his 
earthly  labors  and  hopes  ;  at  least  so  far  as  they  were  con- 
nected with  his  preaching  the  doctrines  of  faith.  The  only 
favor  which  he  obtained  from  his  persecutors  was  that  of 
being  placed,  just  before  he  died,  in  the  Hospital  of  Char- 
enton. 

17.  This  must  have  been  a  heavy  blow  to  Madame 
Guyon ;  and  the  more  so  because  one  of  the  principal  in- 
struments in  it  was  a  member  of  her  own  family.  She  had 
known  La  Combe  at  an  early  period  of  life  ;  she  had  been, 
in  a  very  great  degree,  the  instrument,  in  God's  hands,  of 
his  conversion  and  of  his  religious  growth ;  and  had  seen 
him,  in  the  maturity  of  his  powers,  ably  defending,  in  his 
sermons  and  in  his  printed  writings,  the  doctrines  which 
were  so  dear  to  her.  And  the  result  of  a  religious  devoted- 
ness  so  thorough  and  single-hearted,  was  banishment  and  a 
prison  ;  and  that,  too,  without  any  hope  of  release.  It  was  a 
great  consolation  to  her,  however,  to  know,  that  he  who  was 
thus  called  to  suffer  so  deeply  and  permanently,  in  the  very 
prime  of  his  power  and  hopes,  had  inward  supports,  which 
none  better  than  herself  knew  to  be  invaluable. 

Speaking  of  him  at  this  time,  she  says,  "  God  will  reward 
every  one  according  to  his  works.  There  is  something  in 
me  which  tells  me,  that  he  fully  recognizes  the  will  of  God ; 
he  knows  who  is  at  the  head  of  events,  whatever  may  be  the 
subordinate  instrumentality,  and  is  satisfied." 

And  again  she  remarks,  in  connection  with  these  events 
and  with  great  propriety,  "  One  must  not  judge  of  the  ser- 

VOL.  it.  2 


14  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

vants  of  God  by  what  their  enemies  say  of  thein,  nor  by 
their  being  oppressed  under  calumnies  without  any  resource. 
Jesus  Christ  expired  under  pangs.  God  uses  the  like  con- 
duct towards  his  dearest  servants,  to  render  them  conforma- 
ble to  his  Son,  in  whom  he  is  always  well  pleased.  But  few 
place  that  conformity  where  it  ought  to  be.  It  is  not  in 
voluntary  pains  or  austerities,  but  in  those  which  are  suffered 
in  a  submission  ever  equal  to  the  will  of  God,  in  a  renuncia- 
tion of  our  whole  selves ;  to  the  end  that  God  may  be  our  all 
in  all,  conducting  us  according  to  his  views,  and  not  our  own, 
which  are  generally  opposite  to  his.  In  fine,  all  religious 
perfection  consists  in  this  entire  conformity  with  Jesus 
Christ ;  not  in  shining  and  remarkable  things,  whatever  they 
may  be,  which  men  are  so  disposed  to  esteem  and  to  publish 
abroad.  It  will  only  be  seen  in  eternity  who  are  the  true 
friends  of  God.  Nothing  pleases  him  but  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  which  bears  his  mark  or  character" 

18.  It  was  not,  however,  in  her  nature,  and  still  less  in 
her  religious  principles,  to  forget  one  whose  piety  and  suffer- 
ings so  justly  rendered  him  dear  to  her.  At  no  small  risk 
on  her  part,  she  not  only  furnished  him  with  money  and 
books,*  in  order  to  render  his  situation  as  comfortable  as 
possible,  but  continued  to  write  to  him  while  he  lived.  And 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  interesting  letters  which  he  wrote 
in  answer,  some  of  which  have  been  preserved,  the  support 
and  consolation  which  he  experienced  in  her  correspondence 
were  very  great.  At  one  time  she  was  obliged,  for  reasons 
which  are  not  mentioned,  to  use  great  concealment ;  and 
having  written  him  a  letter  without  any  signature,  and  with 
the  authorship  concealed  in  other  respects  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, he  returned  the  following  in  answer,  which  shows  in 


*  See  GEuvres  Completes  de  Bossuet,  Eveque  de  Meaux.  tome  xii. 
p.  45.    Paris,  1836. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  15 

some  degree  the  state  of  his  mind  after  some  years  of  ban- 
ishment : 

"To  Madame  Guyon. 

"  I  hope  my  unknown  correspondent,  or  rather  my  cor- 
respondent without  a  name,  will  be  assured  that  I  respond 
with  all  my  heart  to  the  honor  which  has  been  done  me. 
The  letter,  which  came  to  me  under  such  peculiar  circum- 
stances, was  not  more  kind,  than  it  was  religiously  instruc- 
tive and  edifying.  I  rejoice,  in  all  sincerity,  in  the  holy 
friendship  which  you  testify  for  me  ;  and  it  is  no  small  satis- 
faction to  know,  that  one  who  thus  feels  for  the  exile  and 
the  prisoner  is  herself  advancing  in  the  life  and  ways  of 
God.  I  can  truly  say,  it  would  be  difficult  to  increase  the 
happiness  which  I  feel  in  knowing,  as  I  have  reason  to 
know,  that  the  heart  which  dictated  those  consoling  lines  to 
me  is  a  heart  which  is  filled  with  a  faith  without  fear,  and 
a  love  without  selfishness.  It  is  such  a  heart,  -which  is  a 
1  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost/ 

"  The  letter  is  without  a  name,  but  not  without  a  char- 
acter. The  image  of  its  author,  in  its  religious  outlines,  is 
too  deeply  engraven  upon  my  heart,  not  to  be  recognized. 
Accept,  from  the  shades  and  sorrows  of  my  prison,  my  sin- 
cere and  affectionate  gratitude.  I  look  upon  you  as  one 
fully  united  in  God ;  and  it  is  in  God  that  my  heart  em- 
braces you. 

"  In  my  present  situation,  correctly  supposing  me  to  be 
unable  to  do  much  else  for  the  cause  we  love,  you  propose 
to  me  to  meditate  and  to  write.  But,  alas !  can  the  dry  rock 
send  forth  flowing  fountains  ?  I  never  had  much  power  or 
inclination  for  such  efforts ;  and  this  seclusion  from  the 
world,  this  imprisonment,  these  cold  and  insensible  walls, 
seem  to  have  taken  from  me  the  power  which  I  once  had. 
The  head,  not  the  heart,  seems  to  have  become  withered 


16  LIFE,   ETC. 

and  hard,  like  the  rock  upon  which  it  has  leaned  so  many 
years.  My  harp  hangs  unstrung  ;  the  sound  of  my  viol  is 
silent.  Like  the  Jews  of  old,  I  sit  down  by  the  waters  of 
my  place  of  exile,  and  hang  my  harp  upon  the  willows.  It 
is  true,  there  has  been  some  mitigation  of  my  state.  I  am 
now  permitted  to  go  beyond  the  walls  of  my  prison  into  the 
neighboring  gardens  and  fields,  but  it  is  only  on  the  condi- 
tion of  my  laboring  there  without  cessation  from  morning 
till  evening.  What  then  can  I  do  ?  How  can  I  meditate  ? 
How  can  I  think  ?  Except  it  be  upon  the  manner  of  subdu- 
ing the  earth,  and  of  cultivating  plants.     > 

"  I  will  add,  however,  that  I  have  no  choice  for  myself. 
All  my  desires  are  summed  up  in  one,  that  God  may  be 
glorified  in  me.  And  to  this  end,  may  I  be  permitted  once 
more  to  ask  the  prayers  of  one  who  can  never  cease  to 
command  my  highest  respect,  or  my  warmest  Christian 
affections. 

"  Francis  de  la  Combe." 


CHAPTER    II. 

Designs  of  those  who  had  imprisoned  La  Combe,  in  relation  to 
Madame  Guyon.  They  propose  to  her  to  leave  Paris,  and  take 
up  her  residence  at  Montargis.  She  refuses.  Desire  of  her  half- 
brother,  La  Mothe,  to  become  her  spiritual  Director.  Her  oppo- 
sition to  it.  Her  tranquillity  of  mind.  Account  of  a  remarkable 
inward  experience.  Her  labors  for  souls ;  and  the  success  attend- 
ing them.  Conversation  with  La  Mothe.  His  efforts  to  compel 
her  to  leave  the  city.  Her  reply.  Her  case  brought  before  Louis 
Fourteenth.  Position  of  Louis.  Her  imprisonment,  Jan.  1688, 
in  the  Convent  of  St.  Marie.  The  treatment  she  experienced. 
Separation  from  her  daughter.     Poetry. 

The  objects  of  those  who  had  thus  put  a  stop  to  the 
labors  of  La  Combe,  and  thrown  him  into  prison,  would  not 
have  been  accomplished,  if  Madame  Guyon  had  been  per- 
mitted to  prosecute  her  labors  in  quiet.  She  was  in  fact 
considered  the  head  of  the  new  spirituality,  as  it  was  termed ; 
and  it  would  have  been  hardly  consistent  to  have  prosecuted, 
with  so  much  promptness  and  severity,  the  subordinate  agents, 
without  especially  noticing  one  whom  they  regarded  as  the 
head  or  principal  in  the  movement.  But  they  had  no  design 
to  involve  in  doubt  their  character  for  consistency ;  and  had 
already  begun  upon  Madame  Guyon  their  process  of  repre- 
hension and  attack,  before  they  had  completed  it  upon  La 
Combe. 

2.  La  Mothe,  as  well  as  others  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated, knew  very  well  Tiow  constant  were  her  labors  and 

vol.  it.  2* 


18  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

how  great  her  influence.  An  influence  the  more  to  be 
dreaded,  because  it  was  now  exerted  among  those  whose 
position  in  society  commanded  the  highest  respect.  Meet- 
ing her  one  day,  La  Mothe,  who  seems  to  have  taken  his 
measures,  for  the  most  part,  in  concurrence  with  M.  de  Har- 
lai,  archbishop  of  Paris,  proposed  to  her  as  the  readiest 
means  of  relieving  and  quieting  the  apprehensions  which 
existed,  to  leave  the  city,  and  take  up  her  residence  at 
Montargis,  the  place  of  her  birth.  A  proposition  of  this 
kind  she  could  not  hesitate  to  refuse.  It  was  certainly  very 
natural  that  she  should  decidedly  object  to  it.  What  securi- 
ty could  she  have,  that  she,  who  had  already  been  hunted 
from  Paris  to  Gex,  and  from  Gex  to  Thonon,  and  from 
Thonon  to  Grenoble  and  Marseilles,  would  not  experience 
at  Montargis  the  same  system  of  rigid  scrutiny  and  of  vio- 
lent oppression  ?  And  besides,  to  flee  under  such  circum- 
stances, when  attacks  were  made  upon  her  character  as  well 
as  upon  her  religious  principles,  would  have  been  an  implied 
confession,  either  that  her  conduct  had  been  wrong,  or  that 
her  principles  were  untenable. 

3.  This,  however,  was  the  first  mode  of  attack.  And  it 
was  not  difficult  to  foresee,  if  this  should  fail,  that  others 
would  be  resorted  to.  Indeed,  it  was  already  understood  as 
a  part  of  the  process  in  operation  against  her,  that  La  Mothe 
should  take  the  place  of  La  Combe,  if  she  could  be  induced 
to  consent  to  it,  as  her  spiritual  Director,  which  would  give 
him  an  authorized  and  official,  if  not  a  personal  influence. 
An  influence,  which  could  be  exercised  very  effectually, 
whether  she  remained  at  Paris  or  fled  to  Montargis. 

"  La  Mothe,"  she  says,  "  insisted  on  my  taking  himself 
for  my  spiritual  Director ;  a  proposition  to  which  I  could 
not  possibly  assent.  Disappointed  in  this,  he  decried  me 
wherever  he  went ;  and  wrote  to  others,  who  were  associated 
with  him.  to  do  the  same.     These  persons,  with  the  purpose 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  19 

of  aiding  him  in  his  plans,  wrote  to  me  very  abusive  letters ; 
and  particularly  insisted,  that,  if  I  did  not  place  myself  under 
his  direction  in  the  manner  he  proposed,  I  could  not  fail  to 
be  ruined. 

"  These  letters  I  have  still  by  me.  One  Father,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  order  of  the  Barnabites,  whose  dispositions  were 
not  wholly  unfavorable,  advised  me  to  take  the  proposed 
course,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  the  best  which  could  be 
done,  and  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity.  Others  advised 
me  to  put  myself  under  his  direction  in  pretence  merely ;  a 
course  entirely  abhorrent  to  my  feelings,  for  I  could  not  bear 
the  thought  of  disguise  or  deceit.  But  without  yielding  to 
suggestions  of  this  kind,  I  felt  determined,  whatever  might 
be  thought  or  said,  not  to  hazard  my  liberty  or  peace  by 
assenting  to  any  such  plan. 

4.  "  Amid  the  various  trials  and  temptations  to  which  I 
was  exposed,  I  bore  every  thing  with  the  greatest  tranquillity, 
without  taking  any  care  to  justify  or  defend  myself.  Hav- 
ing faith  in  God,  I  left  it  with  him  to  order  every  thing  as 
he  should  see  best  in  regard  to  me.  And  in  taking  this 
course,  He  was  graciously  pleased  to  increase  the  peace  of 
my  soul,  while  every  one  seemed  to  cry  out  against  me,  and 
to  look  upon  me  as  an  infamous  creature,  except  those  few 
who  knew  me  well  by  a  near  union  of  spirit.  As  I  was 
once  seated  in  a  place  of  worship,  I  heard  some  persons 
behind  me ,  exclaim  against  me,  and  even  some  priests  say, 
*  It  was  necessary  to  cast  me  out  of  the  church.'  At  this 
trying  time  I  left  myself  to  God  without  any  reserve  ;  being 
entirely  ready  to  endure  the  most  rigorous  pains  and  tortures, 
if  such  were  his  will.  And  this  was  so  much  the  case,  that 
I  did  not  look  to  earthly  friendships  or  earthly  wisdom  for 
support.  I  chose  to  owe  every  thing  to  God,  without  any 
dependence  for  help  on  any  creature.  I  would  not  have  it 
said,  that  any  but  God  had  made  Abraham  rich.    Gen.  xiv. 


20  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

23.     To  lose  all  for  Him  is  my  best  gain  ;   and  to  gain  all 
without  him  would  be  my  worst  loss. 

5.  "In  this  state  of  things,  I  was  one  evening  in  my 
chamber.  I  was  alone,  praying  to  the  Lord.  All  of  a  sud- 
den I  had  a  very  remarkable  experience  of  union  with 
Christ  crucified.  That  is  to  say,  I  seemed  to  have  a  very 
remarkable  perception  of  what  Christ  suffered  in  his  last 
agonies,  combined  not  only  with  a  readiness  to  suffer  with 
him,  but  with  an  actual  suffering  in  my  own  spirit,  ( God 
only  knows  how  great,)  derived,  as  it  were,  sympathetically 
from  a  view  of  his  suffering.  At  the  same  time  these  words 
were  present  to  my  mind ;  'He  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors," Mat.  xv.  28. 

"  Nothing  but  experience  can  make  any  one  comprehend 
what  I  mean.  Something  within  me  seemed  to  say,  that  I  must 
learn  from  what  I  now  felt,  that  I  had  not  hitherto  suffered 
what  Christ  had  suffered,  and  that  still  greater  trials  were 
before  me.  And  I  exclaimed,  O  my  Lord !  if  there  has  not 
been  poured  upon  me  enough  of  reproaches  and  ignominies, 
finish  and  consummate  in  thine  own  way  that  which  Thou 
hast  in  store.  Every  thing  will  be  well  received  as  coming 
from  Thee*  It  was  the  promise  which  I  made,  the  contract 
of  our  sacred  marriage,  that  I  should  suffer  for  thy  name's 
sake.  And  thy  handmaid  acknowledges  thy  goodness  to  her, 
continued  all  along  to  this  day,  in  sanctifying  her  sufferings 
to  the  honor  of  thy  worthy  name." 

6.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  during  all  this  time,  wit- 
nessing as  she  did  the  excitement  and  opposition  which 
existed,  and  the  severe  treatment  which  La  Combe  had  ex- 
perienced, she  calmly  but  unremittingly  labored  in  the  good 
cause  to  which  she  had  devoted  herself.  She  did  this,  fore- 
seeing, beyond  any  question,  that,  in  pursuing  this  course, 
she  must  herself  soon  experience  the  same  severity.  She 
had  been  in  the  city  but  little  more  than  a  year ;   but  the 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  21 

outcry  against  her  was  general.  There  was  no  end  to  what 
was  said  of  her  novelties  and  heresies,  followed  up  by 
attacks,  as  ungenerous  as  they  were  unfounded,  against  her 
private  character.  "But  notwithstanding  this  unfavorable 
state  of  things,  "  God,"  she  says,  "  did  not  fail  to  make  use 
of  me  to  gain  many  souls  to  himself  He  was  pleased  to 
regard  me  in  great  kindness.  In  the  poverty  and  weakness 
of  his  poor  handmaid,  he  gave  me  spiritual  riches.  The 
more  persecution  raged  against  me,  the  more  attentively  was 
the  word  of  the  Lord  listened  to,  and  the  greater  number  of 
spiritual  children  were  given  me." 

Some  of  these  persons,  who  naturally  sympathized  with 
her  and  did  what  they  could  in  her  behalf,  were  involved, 
more  or  less,  in  the  trials  she  endured.  A  number  were 
banished  from  the  city,  chiefly  on  the  ground  of  having 
attended  religious  conferences,  at  her  house  or  in  company 
with  her.  One  was  banished,  she  states,  against  whom 
nothing  further  was  alleged  than  his  having  made  the  re- 
mark, that  her  little  book,  meaning  probably  her  book  on 
Prayer,  was  a  good  one.* 

7.  It  was  under  these  circumstances,  that  she  met  one 
day,  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Paris,  her  half-brother,  La 
Mothe,  whose  agency  in  these  transactions  had  been  con- 
spicuous, though  partially  concealed  in  regard  to  herself  under 
the  garb  of  friendship.  "  My  sister,"  he  said,  "  the  time  has 
come.  It  is  necessary  for  you  to  decide  to  flee  from  the 
city.  There  are  allegations  against  you  of  such  a  nature, 
that  there  seems  to  be  no  other  course.  You  are  even 
charged  with  high  crimes." 

Knowing  as  she  did  that  the  malevolence  of  her  enemies 
would  carry  them  to  any  extent,  but  conscious  of  her  inno- 
cence, she  replied,  "  If  I  am  guilty  of  the  crimes  which  are 

*  La  Vie  cle  Madame  Guyon,  pt.  iii.  ch,  4 


22  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

alleged,  I  cannot  be  too  severely  punished.  Let  punishment 
come.  I  cannot  flee,  I  cannot  go  out  of  the  way.  There 
are  abundant  reasons  why  I  should  remain  where  I  am.  I 
have  made  an  open  profession  of  dedicating  myself  to  the 
Lord,  to  be  his  entirely.  If  I  have  done  things  offensive  to 
God,  whom  I  would  wish  to  love,  and  whom  I  would  wish 
to  cause  to  be  loved  by  the  whole  world  even  at  the  expense 
of  my  life,  I  ought  by  my  punishment  to  be  made  an  example 
to  the  world.  I  am  innocent ;  and  shall  not  prejudice  my 
claims  to  innocence  by  betaking  to  flight." 

8.  La  Mothe,  who  probably  did  not  anticipate  so  much 
resolution  of  purpose,  was  angry,  and  turned  away  from  her 
with  violent  threats.  As  her  enemies  had  failed  to  banish 
her  by  artifice,  the  matter  was  left  to  take  the  usual  course. 
The  charges  against  her  morals,  which  were  fabrications 
without  the  slightest  foundation,  were  given  up ;  her  high 
purity  and  integrity  of  character  were  recognized ;  but  the 
excellence  of  her  character  did  not  remedy  or  mitigate  the 
fact  of  her  heresy.  On  the  contrary  it  seemed  to  render  it 
the  more  dangerous.  Accordingly  her  case,  on  the  grounds 
of  heretical  teaching  and  doctrine,  came  before  M.  de  Harlai, 
archbishop  of  Paris.  The  methods  of  proceeding,  and  the 
particulars  inquired  into,  are  not  given.  We  only  know, 
that  the  archbishop  was  clear  and  prompt  in  condemning 
her,  so  far  as  the  correctness  of  her  opinions  was  concerned ; 
and  sometime  afterwards  published  an  Ordinance  and  Pas- 
toral Instructions  to  that  effect ;  *  but  he  had  not  authority, 
without  the  king's  order,  to  imprison  her. 

"At  that  time,"  says  M.  de  Bausset,  the  author  of  the  Life 
of  Fenelon,  "  the  city  of  Paris  was  the  diocese  of  M.  de  Har- 
lai, who,  whatever  may  have  been  his  other  faults,  possessed, 
at  least,  the  wisdom  and  the  merit  of  being  extremely  scru- 

*  CEuvres  Completes  de  Bossuet,  Evequc  de  Meaux,  tome  viii.  pp 
660,  661.     Ed  Paris.  1836 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  23 

pulous  in  resisting  every  novelty  of  opinion,  which  would  be 
likely  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  church  and  of  public 
order.  The  representations,  which  were  made  to  this  pre- 
late against  Madame  Guyon  and  Father  La  Combe,  seemed 
to  him  to  require,  on  his  part,  measures  of  precaution  and 
severity  ;  for  he  thought  he  perceived  a  conformity  between 
their  doctrine  and  that  of  Molinos.  He  accordingly  de- 
manded and  obtained  from  the  king  an  order  to  secure  their 
persons."  * 

The  matter  accordingly,  as  in  the  case  of  La  Combe,  was 
brought  before  Louis  Fourteenth.  The  charges,  as  they 
were  laid  before  the  king,  and  as  Madame  Guyon  herself  has 
stated  them,  were  these:  —  That  she  maintained  heretical 
opinions ;  —  That,  for  the  purpose  of  inculcating  these  opin- 
ions, she  held  private  religious  assemblies,  contrary  to  the 
practice  and  rules  of  the  Catholic  church  ;  —  That  she  had 
published  a  dangerous  book,  containing  sentiments  similar  to 
those  of  the  Spiritual  Guide  of  Michael  de  Molinos,  which 
had  been  condemned  by  a  Papal  decree ;  —  And  that  she 
kept  up  a  written  correspondence  with  Molinos,  who  was  now 
imprisoned  at  Rome.  It  was  contended,  (such  being  the 
character  of  her  opinions,  of  her  efforts,  and  of  the  personal 
relations  she  sustained,)  that  it  was  not  enough  merely  to 
stop  the  circulation  of  her  writings  by  an  ecclesiastical  inter- 
diction, but  was  necessary  also  to  restrict  her  person,  and  to 
imprison  her. 

9.  It  is  necessary  to  understand  the  position  of  the  mind 
of  Louis.  Tired  of  the  prevalence  of  heresy  within  his 
dominions,  he  had  already  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantz,  and 
had  sent  his  dragoons  to  the  various  parts  of  France,  for  the 
purpose  of  breaking  up  and  dispersing  the  religious  assem- 
blies of  the  Protestants.  Not  satisfied  with  purging  France 
from  heresies,  he  seems  to  have  thought,  that  it  would  be 

*  Life  of  Fenelon.  hv  M  de  Bausset.  vol.  i.  ch.  5. 


24  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

for  his  glory,  as  the  eldest  son  of  the  church,  to  do  the  same 
thing  for  Italy.  It  was  with  this  feeling,  that  he  had  em- 
ployed the  influence  of  France,  in  the  person  of  the  French 
ambassador,  to  hasten  and  secure  the  condemnation  of 
Molinos. 

The  Pope,  Innocent  Eleventh,  looking  upon  Molinos  as  a 
truly  humble  and  pious  man,  whatever  might  be  the  errors 
of  his  opinions,  was  averse  to  taking  extreme  measures.  It 
was  the  influence  of  the  king  of  France,  whose  dread  of 
heresy  had  become  with  him  a  controlling  motive  of  action, 
which  apparently  decided  the  Pope  to  take  the  course  which 
he  did.  And  accordingly  the  accusers  of  Madame  Guyon 
knew  how  easy  it  would  be  to  excite  the  suspicions  and  the 
indignation  of  Louis,  by  connecting  the  doctrines  which  she 
advocated,  with  those  of  Molinos,  to  which  he  had  been  so 
averse,  and  of  which  he  had  procured  the  condemnation. 
Indeed,  although  she  had  never  seen  Molinos,  and  still  less 
had  ever  corresponded  with  him,  as  had  been  alleged,  it  can- 
not, I  think,  be  well  denied,  that  there  was  a  similarity  in 
their  religious  views.  The  real  objection  against  both  was, 
that  their  doctrines,  involving,  as  they  did,  a  reliance  upon 
faith  in  Christ  alone  as  the  true  foundation  of  the  Christian 
life  in  all  its  extent,  tended  to  subvert  some  of  the  received 
ideas  and  practices  of  the  Catholic  church., 

10.  Louis,  therefore,  was  obviously  predisposed  to  con- 
demn her.  In  this  state  of  mind,  her  accusers  laid  before 
him  a  letter,  bearing  the  signature  of  Madame  Guyon,  which 
contained  the  following  passage.  It  was  a  forged  letter ; 
but  the  king  was  not  aware  of  the  fact  at  the  time.  The 
passage  was  this  :  — 

"  I  have  great  designs  in  hand.  But  since  the  imprison- 
ment of  Father  La  Combe,  I  am  not  without  fears,  that  my 
plans  may  prove  abortive.  I  am  closely  watched  ;  and  as  a 
matter  of  precaution,  I  have  left  off  holding  religious  meet- 


OF    MADAME    GUTON.  25 

ings  at  rny  own  house  ;  but  it  is  my  intention  to  hold  them 
in  other  streets  and  houses." 

This  letter,  in  which  Louis  thought  he  saw  the  germs  of 
another  Protestantism  springing  up  in  his  own  city  and 
ander  his  own  eye,  seems  to  have  brought  him  to  a  decision. 
Arid  accordingly,  without  further  deliberation,  he  issued  the 
requisite  lettre  de  cachet,  or  sealed  order ;  and  Madame 
Guyon,  although  she  was  but  partially  recovered  from  a 
severe  sickness,  was  confined  as  a  prisoner  in  the  Convent 
of  St.  Marie,  in  the  suburb  of  St.  Antoine.  This  took  place 
on  the  29th  of  January,  1688;  a  little  more  than  three 
months  after  the  imprisonment  of  La  Combe. 

11.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that  this  sudden  change  in  hejj 
situation  occurred  without  any  interest  felt  or  any  effort  made 
in  her  behalf.  It  was  not  possible,  that  those  to  whom  God  had 
made  her  the  instrument  of  spiritual  blessings,  should  see  her 
character  attacked  and  her  person  imprisoned  without  deep 
sorrow.  A  number  of  persons,  some  of  them  of  considera- 
ble standing  in  soci-sty,  were  banished,  in  consequence  of 
their  sympathy  in  her  views  and  in  her  trials.  One  of  these 
was  M.  Bureau,  a  man  of  piety  and  learning,  a  doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne,  who  had  visited  her  house  a  number  of  times  in 
company  with  another  of  her  religious  friends,  the  Abbe  de 
Gaumont.  But  under  a  government,  constituted  as  was  that 
of  France  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking,  there 
was  but  little  security  for  truth  and  justice,  when  powerful 
influences  were  arrayed  against  them.  The  measures  against 
her  were  taken  with  so  much  skill  and  promptness,  that  they 
entirely  baffled  all  the  favorable  dispositions  of  those  who 
were  ready  and  willing  to  aid  her. 

12.  "On  the  29th  of  January,  1688,"  she  says,  "  I  went 
to  the  Convent  of  St.  Marie.  This  convent  was  selected, 
because  the  Mother  Superior  was  known  to  be  particularly 

u     in  the  execution  of  the  king's  orders.     I  received 

VOL.  II.  O 


26  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

the  summons  which  required  me  to  go  there,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  day.  A  number  of  hours  were  allowed  me,  be- 
fore I  left  my  house,  in  which  I  received  the  calls  and 
sympathy  of  many  friends.  When  I  arrived  at  the  convent 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  I  learnt  that  I  must  be  shut  up 
alone  in  a  small  chamber  which  served  as  my  prison ;  and 
though  I  was  feeble,  I  was  not  allowed  a  maid  to  render  me 
assistance.  The  residents  of  the  convent  were  prepossessed 
with  such  frightful  statements  in  relation  to  me,  that  they 
looked  upon  me,  as  I  appeared  among  them,  with  a  sort  of 
horror.  Those  who  were  the  agents  in  these  transactions 
selected  for  my  jailor  a  nun,  who  they  supposed,  from  the 
^severity  of  her  character,  would  treat  me  with  the  greatest 
rigor.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  result  verified  their  anticipations. 
"  She  not  only  regarded  me  as  a  heretic,  which  my  ene- 
mies knew  was  enough  to  ensure  her  ill  will,  but  obviously 
looked  upon  me  as  an  enthusiast,  a  hypocrite,  and  one  disor- 
dered in  mind.  God  alone  knows  what  she  made  me  suffer. 
As  she  sought  to  surprise  me  in  my  words,  I  was  very  care- 
ful in  all  my  expressions ;  but  the  more  careful  I  was,  the 
worse  it  was  with  me.  I  made  more  slips,  and  gave  her 
more  advantages  over  me,  in  consequence  of  my  care,  be- 
sides the  anxiety  which  was  necessarily  occasioned  in  my 
own  mind  by  it.  I  then  left  myself  as  I  was,  and  resolved, 
though  this  woman  should  bring  me  to  the  scaffold,  by  the 
false  reports  which  she  was  continually  carrying  to  the  Pri- 
oress or  Mother  Superior,  that  I  would  simply  resign  myself 
to  my  lot.  And  thus  I  entered  into  my  former  peaceful 
condition." 

13.  One  result  of  her  imprisonment  was,  that  her  family, 
which  she  had  once  more  collected  around  her,  was  again 
broken  up.  Amid  the  various  trials  and  labors  she  passed 
through,  she  had  one  consolation,  which  she  valued  much ; — 
it  was  the  society  of  her  little  daughter.      This  daughter, 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  27 

who  was  now  in  the  twelfth  year  of  her  age,  had  been  her 
constant  companion.  Wherever  she  had  traveled,  and 
wherever  she  had  taken  up  her  abode,  on  the  Seine  and  on 
the  Leman  Lake,  at  Gex,  at  Thonon,  and  at  Grenoble,  she 
had  listened  to  her  young  voice,  and  found  a  mother's  hopes 
and  joys  some  compensation  for  the  sorrows  she  was  not 
permitted  to  escape.  She  naturally  expected,  when  it  was 
made  known  to  her  that  she  must  go  into  imprisonment,  to 
be  separated  from  the  other  members  of  her  family ;  but 
she  was  desirous  that  her  daughter  might  remain  with  her. 
Nor  are  we  to  suppose,  that,  in  doing  this,  she  regarded  her 
daughter's  happiness  less  than  her  own  convenience.  There 
were  special  reasons,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  see  here- 
after, why  her  daughter  should  not  be  taken  from  her.  And 
besides,  she  knew  how  strongly  the  child's  affections  were 
bound  to  herself,  and  that  a  palace  would  be  far  less  accept- 
able to  her  and  far  less  dear  than  her  mother's  prison. 

14.  "  I  thought,"  she  says,  "it  would  be  consistent  with 
the  objects  of  my  imprisonment,  to  permit  my  daughter  to 
be  left  with  me,  and  also  one  of  my  maid  servants,  whose 
assistance  I  needed.  [It  will  be  recollected,  that  she  was 
scarcely  recovered  from  a  severe  sickness.]  But  in  this  I 
was  disappointed.  My  daughter  was  most  at  my  heart; 
having  cost  me  much  care  in  her  education.  I  had  endeav- 
ored, with  divine  assistance,  to  eradicate  her  faults,  and  to 
dispose  her  to  have  no  will  of  her  own,  which  is  the  best 
disposition  for  a  child.  And  I  naturally  desired  that  the 
results  of  these  labors  might  not  be  lost  by  a  too  early  and 
unrestricted  exposure  to  the  world.  But  they  would  not  let 
her  remain.  My  heart  was  deeply  affected,  when  they  took 
her  from  me.  She  was  taken  away,  I  knew  not  where. 
Finding  that  they  would  not  allow  her  to  remain  with  me,  I 
requested  that  she  might  be  permitted  to  stay  in  another 
part  of  the   convent,   which   would   be   some   satisfaction, 


28  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

although  I  should  not  see  her.  But  this  was  not  granted ; 
nor  would  they  allow  any  person  to  bring  any  news  of  her. 
So  that  I  was  obliged  to  give  her  up,  and  to  sacrifice  her,  as 
it  were,  as  if  she  were  mine  no  longer." 

15.  It  would  be  gratifying  to  an  innocent  curiosity,  and 
interesting  for  other  reasons,  to  know  something  more  of 
her  place  of  imprisonment.  It  is  not  improbable  that  it  was 
the  place  which  was  used  as  the  prison  of  the  convent ;  it 
being  sometimes  necessary,  in  such  institutions,  to  subdue 
the  refractory  members,  and  to  produce  in  them  suitable  dis- 
positions, by  keeping  them  shut  up.  It  was  a  small  room 
in  an  upper  story  of  the  building,  which  was  entered  by  a 
single  door,  that  opened  on  the  outside,  and  was  secured  by 
being  locked  and  by  a  bar  across  it.  It  had  an  opening  to 
the  light  and  air  only  on  one  side  ;  and  this  was  so  situated, 
that  the  sun  shone  in  upon  it  nearly  the  whole  day,  which 
rendered  it  exceedingly  uncomfortable  in  the  season  of  sum- 
mer. It  was  here  that  she  was  enclosed,  in  solitary  impris- 
onment, for  eight  months. 

16.  Every  thing,  which  is  connected  with  human  calam- 
ity, especially  every  thing  which  is  connected  with  suffering 
virtue,  becomes  historical.  The  prisoner  leaves  not  only 
his  name,  but  imperishable  associations  on  his  prison.  But 
farther  than  what  has  just  been  stated,  Madame  Guyon  has 
not  said  much  of  the  place.  Perhaps  it  could  not  be  ex- 
pected of  her  to  do  it.  Secondary  incidents  and  instrumen- 
talities, whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  passed  easily  from  her 
mind.  She  seems  to  have  forgot  both  herself  and  others  in 
her  views  of  that  mysterious  wisdom  and  goodness  which 
presides  over  all  things,  however  afflicting.  And  hence  we 
know  more  of  the  placid  resignation  of  the  prisoner,  than  we 
do  of  the  attributes  of  the  prison.  She  herself  has  told  it  in 
one  of  her  own  sweet  songs,  which  is  striking  by  its  sim- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  29 

plicity  as  well  as  its  piety ;  and  which  we  venture  to  give  to 
the  reader  in  a  nearly  literal  translation. 

A   LITTLE    BIRD    I   AM. 

A  little  bird  I  am, 

Shut  from  the  fields  of  air ; 
And  in  my  cage  I  sit  and  sing 

To  Him  who  placed  me  there; 
Well  pleased  a  prisoner  to  be, 
Because,  my  God,  it  pleases  Thee. 

Nought  have  I  else  to  do ; 

I  sing  the  whole  day  long; 
And  He,  whom  most  I  love  to  please, 

Doth  listen  to  my  song ; 
He  caught  and  bound  my  wandering  wing, 
But  still  He  bends  to  hear  me  sing. 

Thou  hast  an  ear  to  hear; 

A  heart  to  love  and  bless; 
And,  though  my  notes 'were  e'er  so  rude, 

Thou  would  'st  not  hear  the  less ; 
Because  Thou  knowest  as  they  fall, 
That  love,  sweet  love,  inspires  them  alL 

My  cage  confines  me  round  ; 

Abroad  I  cannot  fly ; 
But,  though  my  wing  is  closely  bound, 

My  heart's  at  liberty. 
My  prison  walls  cannot  control 
The  flight,  the  freedom  of  the  soul. 

Oh !  it  is  good  to  soar, 

These  bolts  and  bars  above, 
To  Him  whose  purpose  I  adore 

Whose  providence  I  love; 
And  in  Thy  mighty  Will  to  find 
The  joy,  the  freedom  of  the  mind  r 

vol.  ii.  3  * 


CHAPTER  III. 

Occupations  in  prison.  Commences  the  history  of  her  life.  Re- 
marks upon  this  work.  Her  feelings  in  her  imprisonment.  Her 
labors  and  usefulness  while  there.  Letter  to  one  of  her  religious 
friends.  Visited  by  an  ecclesiastical  Judge,  and  a  Doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne.    Examined  by  them.     Her  feelings.    Poem. 

Her  physical  constitution  was  feeble,  but  her  mental 
purpose  was  strong.  Her  full  heart,  strong  in  faith  and 
love,  sustained  her  suffering  body.  It  did  not  follow,  be- 
cause she  was  a  prisoner,  that  she  was  idle.  La  Combe, 
before  he  had  ceased  to  be  her  spiritual  Director,  had  im- 
posed upon  her  the  duty  of  putting  in  writing  the  incidents 
of  her  life.  She  had  probably  made  a  beginning  before  this 
time ;  but  finding  herself,  in  these  mysterious  arrangements 
of  providence,  in  a  situation  which  necessarily  suspended,  in 
a  considerable  degree,  her  personal  efforts  for  the  good 
of  others,  she  now  began  this  work  in  earnest.  The  greater 
part  of  her  autobiography  she  wrote  during  her  imprison- 
ment in  the  convent  of  St.  Marie. 

2.  It  was  not  her  expectation,  at  the  time  of  writing  it, 
that  this  work  would  be  published.  La  Combe  had  required 
her  to  be  very  particular ;  and  not  supposing  it  would  be 
seen  by  many  beyond  the  circle  of  her  personal  friends,  she 
was  more  minute  than  would  otherwise  have  been  necessary. 
So  that  her  Life,  as  it  was  originally  written,  is  less  profita- 
ble than  it  would  have  been,  if  it  had  been  more  select. 


OF    MADAME    GTJYON.  31 

Writing,  too,  almost  solely  from  memory,  and  under  great 
disadvantages,  there  is  a  want  of  exactness  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  her  statements,  besides  frequent  repetitions.  If, 
therefore,  we  may  properly  speak  of  it  as  a  valuable  work, 
as  I  think  we  may,  it  is  less  valuable  considered  in  itself, 
than  as  furnishing  materials  for  others.  Without  this  book, 
considered  as  a  repository  of  materials,  the  life  of  Madame 
Guyon  would  probably  never  have  been  written  ;  we  should 
never  have  known  the  interesting  record  of  her  labors  and 
trials ;  but  published  just  as  it  is,  without  re-adjustment, 
without  selection,  and  without  comment,  it  seems  to  me  to 
do  but  poor  justice  either  to  her  labors,  her  character,  or  her 
opinions. 

3.  She  speaks,  in  her  Autobiography,  of  her  state  of  mind, 
when  she  first  received  notice  that  she  was  to  be  shut  up. 
No  sorrow  or  misgiving  entered  her  heart.  On  the  con 
trary,  God  was  pleased  to  give  her  not  only  entire  resigna- 
tion, but  a  triumphant  and  joyful  peace  ;  so  much  so  that  it 
shone  on  her  countenance,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
person  who  brought  the  king's  order,  and  also  of  her  friends 
who  were  with  her.  The  same  delightful  peace  continued 
after  her  imprisonment. 

The  doctrines  of  Sanctification,  to  which  she  was  so  much 
attached,  involve  principles  which  are  peculiarly  adapted  to 
such  a  situation.  They  strike  at  the  root  of  all  earthly  de- 
sire, as  they  do  of  all  earthly  support.  They  annihilate 
times  and  places,  prosperities  and  adversities,  friendships 
and  enmities,  by  making  them  all  equal  in  the  will  of  God. 
They  take  away  the  differences  of  things  which  are  external, 
whatever  they  may  be,  making  the  crooked  straight  and  the 
rough  plain,  by  a  power  flowing  from  the  unity  and  perma- 
nency within.  So  that  to  Joseph  the  prison  and  the  throne 
are  the  same,  to  Daniel  the  lion's  den  and  the  monarch's 
palace  are  the  same,  because  they  have  that  in  their  believ- 


32  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ing  and  sanctified  hearts,  which  subjects  the  outward  to  the 
inward,  and  because  the  inward  has  become  incorporated  by 
faith  in  that  Eternal  Will,  in  which  all  things  have  their 
origin  and  their  end. 

4.  It  was  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  those  who  had 
been  the  instruments  of  her  imprisonment,  that  her  captivity 
should  be  very  strict;  but  still  it  appears,  that  persons  were 
allowed  to  see  her  from  time  to  time.  And  what  is  worthy 
of  notice,  but  few  persons  visited  her  without  being  reli- 
giously impressed  by  her  appearance  and  her  conversation. 
Many  of  her  poems  also  were  written  during  her  confine- 
ment in  this  prison.  And  if  we  recollect  that  she  still  kept 
up  a  written  correspondence  with  her  religious  friends  and 
others,  and  add  also  the  force  of  her  example,  in  thus  will- 
ingly and  triumphantly  suffering  for  Christ's  cause,  I  think 
we  have  reason  for  saying,  that  probably  no  period  of  her 
life  was  really  more  useful  than  this. 

5.  Among  those  with  whom  she  had  become  acquainted 
since  her  return  to  Paris,  and  for  whose  religious  good  she 
had  begun  to  labor  previous  to  her  imprisonment,  were  a 
number  of  ladies,  and  a  few  persons  of  the  other  sex,  who 
held  a  distinguished  position  in  society.  Of  the  rank  and 
character  of  some  of  these  persons  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  speak  particularly.  It  must  have  been  a  trial  to 
her  feelings,  which  nothing  but  the  highest  faith  could  have 
sustained,  to  have  been  thus  suddenly  cut  off  from  a  field  of 
labor  so  promising.  It  was  some  compensation,  however, 
both  to  herself  and  to  those  whom  she  was  thus  compelled 
to  leave,  that  she  was  permitted  to  write  to  them.  The 
following  letter,  which  illustrates  the  nature  of  her  efforts  by 
means  of  written  correspondence,  when  she  was  not  permit- 
ted to  labor  in  any  other  way,  was  addressed  to  one  of  these 
ladies. 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  33 

"  Madame, 

"  I  can  assure  you,  that  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
witness  the  manifestations  of  God's  mercy  towards  you,  and 
to  see  the  progress  of  your  soul  in  religion.  It  is  my  prayer, 
that  God  may  bring  to  a  completion  the  work  which  He  has 
begun  within  you.  No  doubt  he  will,  if  you  continue  faithful. 
Oh,  the  unspeakable  happiness,  Madame,  of  belonging  to 
Jesus  Christ !  This  is  the  true  balm,  which  sweetens  the  pains 
and  sorrows  that  are  inseparable  from  the  present  life. 

"  In  availing  myself  of  the  liberty  you  have  given  me  of 
making  such  suggestions  as  seem  to  me  applicable  to  your 
situation,  you  will  pardon  me  for  saying,  in  the  first  place, 
that  you  do  not  appear  to  me  to  be  sufficiently  advanced  in 
inward  experience,  to  practise  silent  prayer  for  a  long  time 
together.  This  is  an  important  form  of  prayer;  but  the 
ready  practice  of  it  implies  the  existence  of  religious  habits, 
which  are  not  fully  formed  at  once.  I  think  it  would  be 
better  to  combine  ejaculatory  prayer  with  silent  prayer. 
Let  such  ejaculations  as  the  following ;  0  my  God,  let  me 
be  wholly  Thine  ! — Let  me  love  Thee  purely  for  thyself,  for 
Thou  art  infinitely  lovely  I  —  Of  my  God,  be  Thov  my  all! 
Let  every  thing  else  be  as  nothing  to  me ;  and  othev  short 
ejaculations  like  these  be  offered  up  from  the  heart.  But  I 
think,  that  such  ejaculations  should  be  separated  from  each 
other,  and  intervened,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  by  short  mter- 
vals  of  silence ;  so  that  you  may  delay  upon  the  ejaculation, 
and  may  experience  at  the  time  those  inward  exercises  and 
affections,  which  are  appropriate  to  the  words  uttered.  And 
in  this  way* you  will  be  gradually  forming  and  strengthening 
the  important  habit  of  silent  prayer. 

"  And  this  suggests  another  practical  remark.  When  you 
are  reading  on  religious  subjects  during  any  part  of  the  day, 
you  would  do  well  to  stop  now  and  then  for  a  few  moments, 
and  betake  yourself  to  meditation  and  prayer  in  silence ; 


34  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

especially  when  any  portion  of  what  you  read  touches  and 
affects  you.  The  object  of  this  is  to  let  the  reading  have 
its  appropriate  effect.  Such  reading  will  be  very  likely  to 
edify  and  nourish  the  soul.  The  soul  needs  nourishment,  as 
well  as  the  body.  Its  religious  state,  without  something 
which  is  appropriate  to  its  support,  withers  and  decays. 

"  Do  not  resort  to  austerities  or  self-inflicted  mortifica- 
tions. They  may  do  for  others,  but  not  for  you.  Your 
feeble  health  does  not  allow  of  it.  If  it  were  otherwise,  if 
you  had  a  strong  and  sound  body,  —  and  especially,  which 
is  the  great  point  in  connection  with  physical  mortifications, 
if  you  suffered  yourself  to  be  ruled  by  your  appetites,  I 
should  probably  give  different  advice.  A  system  of  absti- 
nence and  of  physical  repression  could  hardly  fail,  in  that 
case,  to  be  beneficial. 

"  But  there  is  another  mortification,  Madame,  which  I 
must  earnestly  recommend.  Mortify  whatever  remains  of 
your  corrupt  affections  and  your  disorderly  will.  Mortify 
your  peculiar  tastes,  your  propensities,  your  inclinations. 
Among  other  things,  learn  to  suffer  with  patience  and  resig- 
nation those  frequent  and  severe  pains,  which  God  sees  fit 
to  impose  upon  you.  Learn  also,  from  the  motive  of  love 
to  God,  to  suffer  all  that  may  happen  of  contradiction,  ill 
manners,  or  negligence  in  those  who  serve  you.  In  a 
word,  mortify  yourself  by  bearing  at  all  times,  in  a  Chris- 
tian temper,  whatever  thwarts  the  natural  life,  whatever 
is  displeasing  and  troublesome  to  the  natural  sensibilities  ; 
and  thus  place  yourself  in  union  and  fellowship  with  the 
sufferings  of  Christ.  By  taking  these  bitter  remedies, 
you  will  honor  the  Cross.  And  especially  if  you  mor- 
tify yourself  and  die,  in  your  inward  experience,  to  every 
thing  which  is  remarkable  and  showy.  Learn  the  great 
lesson  of  becoming  a  little  one,  of  becoming  nothing.  He 
does  well,  who,  in  fasting  from  other  things  which  the  appe- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  35 

tites  improperly  crave,  lives  upon  mere  bread  and  water; 
but  he  does  better,  who,  in  fasting  from  his  own  desires  and 
his  own  will,  lives  upon  God's  will  alone.  This  is  what  St. 
Paul  calls  the  circumcision  of  the  heart. 

"  I  would  advise  you  to  receive  the  Eucharist  as  often  as 
you  conveniently  can.  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  presented  to  us 
in  that  ordinance,  is  the  bread  of  life,  which  nourishes  and 
quickens  our  souls.  I  shall  not  fail  to  remember  you,  when 
I  am  worshipping  before  Him ;  greatly  desiring  as  I  do,  that 
"he  may  set  up  his  kingdom  in  your  heart,  and  may  reign 
and  rule  in  you.  u  j  M  B.  de  L A  Mothe  Guton." 

6.  The  monotony  of  her  prison  was  varied  by  a  number 
of  incidents.  She  had  been  in  prison  a  short  time,  perhaps 
a  few  weeks,  when  she  was  visited  by  Monsieur  Charon,  a 
judge  of  the  ecclesiastical  court,  and  Monsieur  Pirot,  a  Doc- 
tor of  the  Sorbonne.  They  came  with  authority  to  subject 
her  to  a  formal  examination,  upon  the  results  of  which  it 
seemed  probable,  that  the  continuance  of  her  imprisonment 
would  depend.  With  this  object,  although  it  is  not  improba- 
ble, that  the  examinations  had  secret  reference  to  the  treat- 
ment of  La  Combe.,  as  well  as  to  herself,  they  repeated  their 
visit  four  different  times.  "We  have  the  substance  of  what 
occurred  at  these  interviews  as  follows. 

"  Judge.  Is  it  true,  as  has  been  alleged,  that  when  you 
went  A"om  France  to  Savoy,  you  went  with  Father  La  Combe, 
and  that  you  went  with  him  as  an  associate  and  follower  ? 

"Madame  Guyon.  To  this  interrogation  I  reply,  that, 
when  I  left  France,  La  Combe  was  not  in  France,  and  had 
not  been  there  for  about  ten  years ;  and  therefore  to  have 
gone  with  him  either  as  an  associate,  or  in  any  other  capaci- 
ty, would  have  been  an  impossibility. 

"Judge.  Was  La  Combe  instrumental  in  teaching  you 
the  doctrines  of  the  inward  life  ? 


36  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  Madame  Guy  on.  In  the  principles  of  religion,  in  their 
experimental  form,  I  had  the  happiness  of  being  taught  in 
childhood,  and  in  early  youth.  I  was  not  taught  them  by 
Father  La  Combe.  I  first  knew  La  Combe  in  the  year 
1671,  more  than  fifteen  years  ago,  and  long  before  I  went  to 
Savoy.  He  called  at  my  house  at  that  time,  being  intro- 
duced to  me  by  my  half-brother,  Father  La  Mothe. 

"  Judge.  Did  not  La  Combe  have  some  participation  in 
the  authorship  of  the  little  book,  entitled  the  Short  and  Easy 
Method  of  Prayer  ? 

"Madame  Guyon.  He  did  not.  I  wrote  it  in  the  city 
of  Grenoble.  La  Combe  was  not  there  at  the  time.  When 
I  wrote  it,  I  had  no  expectation  that  it  would  be  printed.  One 
of  my  friends,  a  counsellor  of  Grenoble,  came  into  my  room, 
and,  seeing  it  on  my  table,  examined  it.  Being  pleased  with 
it,  and  thinking  it  would  be  useful,  he  asked  my  consent  to 
its  being  published.  I  consented ;  and  also,  at  his  sugges- 
tion, wrote  a  Preface  to  it,  and  divided  it  into  chapters. 

"Judge.  Are  we  not  to  understand  you  in  that  book  as 
discountenancing  the  use  of  the  prescribed  prayers  of  the 
church,  and  even  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  ? 

"  Madame  Guyon.  So  far  from  discountenancing  the  use 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  it  will  be  seen,  on  consulting  the  book, 
that  I  have  .explained  the  manner  of  using  or  repeating  that 
prayer  to  the  best  effect.  It  is  true,  that  I  have  discoun- 
tenanced the  use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  of  all  other  pre- 
scribed prayers,  as  a  mere  matter  of  for?n,  but  for  no  other 
reason.  It  is  not  the  mere  repetition  of  prayers  which  ren- 
ders us  acceptable  to  God,  but  the  possession  of  those  dispo- 
sitions of  heart,  which  the  forms  of  prayer  are  intended  to 
express. 

"  Judge.  I  have  before  me  a  letter,  addressed  to  Father 
Francis,  of  the  Order  of  Minims,  in  which  you  express  your 
determination  to  hold  religious  meetings  or  conferences  ;  and 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  37 

that  finding  it  dangerous,  since  La  Combe's  imprisonment, 
to  hold  them  at  your  own  house,  you  will  hold  them  in  other 
streets  and  houses,  but  in  a  private  manner. 

"  Madame  Guyon.  What  I  have  done,  is  probably  well 
known.  "What  I  intend  to  do,  is  necessarily  lodged  in  the 
bosom  of  Him  whose  will  is  my  only  law.  But  as  for  that 
letter,  it  is  a  forgery. 

"Judge.  The  letter  must  have  been  written  by  some 
one.  By  whom  was  it  written?  And  what  reason  have 
you  to  think  that  it  is  a  forgery? 

"  Madame  Guyon.  I  cannot  speak  of  its  authorship  with 
certainty ;  but  I  have  my  opinions.  It  is  the  same  which 
was  laid  before  our  king  Louis,  and  which  had  its  effect  in 
my  imprisonment.  I  suppose  it  was  written  by  the  scrive- 
ner Gautier,  whose  agency  in  these  transactions  is  not  un- 
known to  me.  It  is  not  in  my  hand-writing,  as  can  be 
easily  shown.  Besides,  it  is  addressed  to  Father  Francis,  as 
being  in  Paris.  But  it  is  known,  and  can  be  proved,  that 
he  was  not  at  that  time  in  Paris,  but  in  the  city  of  Amiens ; 
and  that  he  left  Paris  for  Amiens  on  the  1st  of  September. 
The  letter  is  dated,  you  will  perceive,  on  the  30th  of  October. 
The  gentleman  who  has  the  charge  of  the  education  of  my  sons 
will  aid  me  in  obtaining  proof  on  these  points,  if  you  wish  it. 

"Judge.  I  suppose  you  are  aware  that  your  opinions, 
those  which  are  expressed  in  your  writings,  and  those  which 
are  uttered  on  other  occasions,  are  regarded  as  heretical.  I 
will  not  go  into  particulars.  I  will  not  attempt  to  prove 
what  has  been  said,  either  by  quotations  or  by  facts,  but 
should  be  pleased  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say  on  this 
charge,  made  in  this  general  way. 

"Madame  Guyon.  To  declare  me  a  heretic,  does  not 
make  me  one.  I  was  born  in  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  brought  up  in  its  principles,  which  I  still  love. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say,  that  I  make  no  preten- 

vol.  n.  4 


38  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

sions  tu  learning ;  that  I  am  not  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne 
and  it  is  possible  that  I  have  sometimes  uttered  expressions, 
which  require  theological  emendation  ;  and  so  far  I  readily 
submit  myself  to  the  correction  of  those  who  have  the  proper 
authority.  I  am  ready  to  give  my  life  for  the  church.  But 
I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  a  Catholic  in  the  substance  and 
spirit,  and  not  merely  in  the  form  and  letter.  The  Catholic 
church  never  intended,  that  her  children  should  remain  dead 
in  her  forms ;  but  that  her  forms  should  be  the  expression 
of  the  life  within  them,  received  through  faith  in  Christ.  You 
will  excuse  me  for  saying  further,  that,  in  doing  what  I  have, 
I  had  no  expectation  or  desire  of  forming  a  separate  party. 
But  I  wished  to  see  the  great  principles  of  the  inward  life 
revived.  It  did  not  occur  to  me,  that  I  was  to  be  regarded 
as  a  heretic  and  separatist ;  but  I  thought  I  might  be  per- 
mitted, in  the  sphere  which  Providence  had  assigned  me,  to 
labor  for  the  revival  of  the  work  of  God  in  the  soul.  It  was 
my  design  to  aid  souls,  and  not  to  injure  them. 

"  Judge.  I  understand,  that,  besides  your  Short  Method 
of  Prayer,  you  have  written  commentaries  on  the  Scriptures. 
I  should  be  glad  to  see  them  and  have  the  opportunity  of 
examining  them. 

"Madame  Guyon.  I  acknowledge,  that  I  have  written 
such  remarks  or  commentaries  on  various  parts  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. They  are  not  here.  I  left  them  in  the  care  of  a 
person,  whom  I  do  not  wish  to  mention  at  present.  When 
I  am  freed  from  my  imprisonment,  I  will  obtain  them,  and 
place  them  in  your  hands." 

7.  Such  was  the  substance,  and  for  the  most  part  the 
precise  terms,  of  these  examinations,  so  far  as  they  are 
briefly  given  by  Madame  Guyon.  Examinations  which 
were  not  very  formal,  and  the  precise  object  of  which  it  is 
somewhat  difficult  to  see.  They  were  probably  designed  in 
part,  to  obtain    something   more   decisive    and    satisfactory 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  39 

against  La  Combe,  whose  imprisonment  was  for  life.  They 
were  intended  to  have  a  bearing  also,  in  some  way  or  other, 
upon  the  prisoner  herself.  Monsieur  Charon,  who  felt  his 
official  responsibility,  retired  in  silence.  The  Doctor  of  the 
Sorbonne,  whose  position  perhaps  allowed  a  little  more  free- 
dom, dropped  a  word  favorable  to  Madame  Guyon.  But, 
sustained  as  she  was  by  the  principles  which  made  God  the 
universal  centre,  she  made  but  little  account,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, either  of  human  friendship  or  of  human  enmity. 
Whether  it  was  the  object  of  these  examinations  to  furnish 
a  basis  for  the  termination  or  the  continuance  of  her  im- 
prisonment, it  was  all  the  same.  It  was  enough  for  her  to 
know,  that  those  who  had  imprisoned  her,  and  who  continued 
her  in  prison,  went  no  farther  than  God  had  permitted  them. 
Regarding  it  as  God's  will,  that  her  imprisonment  should  be 
made  the  occasion  of  the  development  of  human  weakness 
and  passion  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  Christian  graces 
which  God  had  given  her  on  the  other,  she  found  in  this 
view  of  her  situation  a  degree  of  support  and  consolation, 
which  made  even  her  prison  a  happy  place. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  say,  that  she  was  en- 
tirely resigned  and  happy,  when  she  came  there  ;  and  she 
gives  us  to  understand  emphatically,  that  she  did  not  cease  tc 
be  so  afterwards.  There  were  alternations  of  feeling  undoubt- 
edly. Sometimes  darkness  and  sorrow  settled  in  what  may 
be  termed  the  outside  of  her  system,  in  her  shattered  nerves 
and  bleeding  sensibilities ;  but  faith  unchangeable,  which 
always  brings  God  to  those  who  have  it,  made  light  and  joy 
in  the  centre.  When  none  came  to  see  her  with  whom  she 
might  converse,  she  wrote  ;  when  tired  of  writing  the  inci- 
dents of  her  life,  she  corresponded  with  her  absent  friends  ; 
when  opportunities  for  doing  good  in  this  manner  did  not 
present  themselves,  she  solaced  the  hours  of  deprivation  and 
solitude  by  writing  poems.     It  is  to  this  period,  that  we  are 


40  LIFE,    ETC. 

to  ascribe  the  origin  of  the  little  poem,  beginning,  Si  c'est  un 
crime  que  d 'aimer.  The  sentiment  of  this  poem,  which 
breathes  a  pleasing  spirit  of  religious  affection,  may  be  found 
in  the  following  stanzas. 


LOVE    CONSTITUTES    MY    CRIME. 

Love  constitutes  my  crime  ; 

For  this  they  keep  me  here, 
Imprisoned  thus  so  long  a  time 

For  Him  I  hold  so  dear ; 
And  yet  I  am,  as  when  I  came, 
The  subject  of  this  holy  flame. 

How  can  I  better  grow  ! 

How  from  my  own  heart  fly ! 
Those  who  imprison  me  should  know 

True  love  can  never  die. 
Yea,  tread  and  crush  it  with  disdain, 
And  it  will  live  and  burn  again. 

And  am  I  then  to  blame  ? 

He 's  always  in  my  sight ; 
And  having  once  inspired  the  flame, 

He  always  keeps  it  bright. 
For  this  they  smite  me  and  reprove, 
Because  I  cannot  cease  to  love. 

What  power  shall  dim  its  ray, 
Dropp'd  burning  from  above  ! 

Eternal  Life  shall  ne'er  decay ; 
God  is  the  life  of  love. 

And  when  its  source  of  life  is  o'er, 

And  only  then,  't  will  shine  no  more. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Her  views  in  relation  to  the  continuance  of  her  imprisonment.  Her 
spirit  of  inward  peace  and  triumph.  Inward  trials.  Spirit  of 
forgiveness  towards  her  enemies.  Attempts  made  to  involve  her 
daughter  in  a  marriage  arrangement.  The  king  favorable  to  the 
plan,  but  requires  Madame  Guyon's  consent.  The  subject  pro- 
posed  to  her  with  the  view  of  obtaining  her  consent  by  M.  Charon. 
Her  reply.  Unfavorable  state  of  things.  Writes  to  Pere  La 
Chaise.  Sickness.  Renewed  trials.  Remarks  on  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost.     A  Poem. 

"  The  Prioress  of  the  Convent,"  says  Madame  Guyon, 
"  asked  the  ecclesiastical  judge,  who  had  put  to  me  the  ques- 
tions of  examination,  how  the  affair  stood.  He  signified, 
that  things  were  in  a  favorable  way,  and  that  I  should  be 
discharged  at  an  early  period.  And  this  became  the  com- 
mon opinion  and  the  common  conversation  in  relation  to  it. 
But  as  for  myself,  I  had  a  presentiment  to  the  contrary. 
But  this  did  not  depress  me.  My  mind  was  free.  The 
confinement  of  my  body  made  me  relish  my  mental  liberty 
the  better.  The  satisfaction  and  even  joy,  which  I  had  in 
being  a  prisoner  and  in  suffering  for  Christ,  were  inexpres- 
sible. 

"  The  19th  of  March,  in  particular,  was  a  memorable  day. 
On  that  day  the  Nun  who  acted  as  my  jailer,  granted  me 
the  liberty,  as  a  special  favor,  of  going  into  the  garden 
attached  to  the  Convent.  In  a  retired  part  of  the  garden 
was  a  little  Oratory  or  place  of  prayer,  which  was  the  more 

vol.  it.  4  * 


42  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

calculated  to  favor  devotional  feelings  by  having  a  cross 
planted  in  it,  with  a  carved  image  of  the  dying  Saviour  sus- 
pended upon  it.  It  was  there,  as  I  was  alone  in  acts  of 
worship,  that  God  was  with  me,  and  blessed  me  much. 
During  the  whole  of  that  day,  my  mind  had  more  of  heaven 
than  of  earth  in  it.     Language  cannot  express  it." 

2.  On  the  25th  of  March,  six  days  after  the  time  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking,  she  records  the  existence  of  a 
very  different  state  of  mind,  but  perhaps  a  state  not  less 
profitable.  God  was  pleased  on  that  day,  and  for  a  number 
of  days  following,  to  leave  her  in  a  state  of  extreme  desti- 
tution and  depression.  Her  lonely  situation,  her  separation 
from  her  daughter,  the  opposition  she  had  met  with,  the 
apparent  defeat  of  her  plans  and  anticipations  for  the  good 
of  souls,  could  not  fail  to  be  present  to  her  thoughts.  The 
pains,  which  she  thus  endured,  were  probably  enhanced  by 
her  physical  sufferings,  from  which,  although  we  have  said 
but  little  respecting  them,  she  was  not  often  exempt  for  a 
long  time  together.  These  suggestions  and  influences  were 
permitted  to  gather  around  her  mind  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  furnish  occasion  for  temptations  severe  and  heavy. 
God  saw  fit,  in  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  that  Satan 
should  try  her  once  more.  All  human  and  all  heavenly 
support,  so  far  as  it  was  perceptible  and  consolatory,  was  for 
some  days  taken  away.  She  was  in  the  greatest  sorrow  of 
spirit.  "  It  seemed,"  she  says,  "  as  if  the  Saviour  designed 
that  I  should  experience  something  of  that  unmeasured  suf- 
fering of  spirit,  which  is  denominated  the  Agony  of  the  Gar- 
den. But  He,  who  permitted  her  to  be  tried,  did  not  permit 
her  to  sink.  In  the  absence  of  consolation,  and  in  the  loss 
of  all  other  support,  she  was  enabled  to  hold  on  by  faith 
alone.  Although,  to  her  troubled  and  overwhelmed  spirit, 
God  seemed  to  be  displeased  and  angry  with  her,  she  did 
not  cease  to  have  confidence  in  him  for  a  moment.      She 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  43 

believed,  and  was  triumphant.     Satan  fled  discomfited  ;  and 
the  calm  peace  and  joy  of  her  mind  returned. 

3.  Her  feelings  towards  those  who  had  injured  her  are 
worthy  of  notice.  —  "I  had  not  any  feeling  of  resentment," 
she  says,  "  against  my  persecutors.  I  was  not  insensible  to 
the  sorrows  which  they  occasioned  me,  nor  ignorant,  as  I 
think,  of  the  spirit  by  which  they  were  actuated  ;  but  I  had 
no  other  feelings  towards  them,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  than 
those  of  forbearance  and  kindness.  The  reflection,  that  they 
did  only  what  God  permitted  them  to  do,  which  enabled  me 
always  to  keep  God  in  sight,  supported  me  much.  Jesus 
Christ,  and  holy  men  in  various  ages  of  the  church,  have  not 
only  suffered,  but  have  known  well  the  evil  dispositions  of 
those  who  persecuted  them  ;  but  they  knew  also,  that  these 
men  had  i  no  power  except  what  was  given  them  from  above.' 
John  xix.  11.  When  we  suffer,  we  should  always  remem- 
ber, that  God  inflicts  the  blow.  Wicked  men,  it  is  true,  are 
not  unfrequently  his  instruments ;  and  the  fact  of  their  in- 
strumentality does  not  diminish,  but  simply  developes  their 
wickedness.  But  when  we  are  so  mentally  disposed,  that 
we  love  the  strokes  we  suffer,  regarding  them  as  coming 
from  God,  and  as  expressions  of  what  he  sees  best  for  us, 
we  are  then  in  the  proper  state  to  look  forgivingly  and 
kindly  upon  the  subordinate  instrument  which  he  permits  to 
smite  us." 

4.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  notice,  that  her 
daughter  was  not  permitted  to  remain  with  her.  She  was 
not  even  permitted  to  know,  for  a  considerable  time,  where 
her  daughter  was  placed.  Her  feelings,  therefore,  were 
greatly  tried,  when  she  learned,  after  some  time,  that  inter- 
ested individuals  (it  is  probable  that  her  relative  La  Mothe 
was  one  of  them)  had  gotten  possession  of  her  daughter's 
person,  and  were  endeavoring  to  induce  her,  left  as  she. 
was  without  the  aid  and  advice  of  a  mother,  to  pledge  her- 


44  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

self  thus  early  in  life  to  a  marriage.  In  the  disposition  and 
settlement  of  her  father's  estate,  a  considerable  amount  of 
property  had  been  settled  upon  this  child.  The  hope  of 
getting  possession  of  this  property  was  probably  one  of  the 
motives  in  this  singular  and  ungenerous  movement. 

5.  This  beloved  daughter  was  the  child  of  Madame  Guyon's 
religious,  still  more  than  of  her  natural  expectations  and 
hopes.  Much  had  she  labored  and  prayed  for  the  renovation 
and  spiritual  perfection  of  her  nature.  Her  sorrow,  therefore, 
and  her  trial  of  mind,  must  have  been  greatly  increased, 
when  she  learned,  that  the  individual  who  was  thus  proposed 
as  her  daughter's  husband,  was  a  man  who  had  scarcely  a 
tincture  of  Christianity,  being  abandoned  both  in  his  prin- 
ciples of  belief  and  in  his  practical  morals. 

It  was  not  designed  probably,  that  the  proposed  marriage 
should  take  place  immediately;  but  only  that  she  should 
become  so  far  involved  by  promises,  and  perhaps  by  misled 
and  enthralled  affections,  that  the  expected  result  would 
certainly  follow,  and  perhaps  at  no  distant  period.  The 
agents  in  this  transaction  carried  the  matter  before  the  king, 
who  frequently,  from  various  motives,  took  a  personal  inter- 
est in  the  domestic  arrangements  of  his  subjects.  In  this 
affair  he  was  so  far  imposed  upon  as  to  express  a  willing- 
ness and  even  desire,  that  the  proposed  betrothment  should 
take  place.  He  was  willing,  also,  that  his  desire  should  be 
known,  and  should  have  all  the  influence  which  would  natu- 
rally result  from  it ;  but  he  had  so  much  remains  of  kingly 
honor  and  pride  as  to  insist,  that  Madame  Guyon's  consent 
must  first  be  obtained. 

6.  The  king's  views  and  wishes  were  conveyed  to  Mad- 
ame Guyon  through  the  instrumentality  of  M.  Charon,  the 
ecclesiastical  judge,  with  whom  the  reader  already  has  some 
acquaintance.  A  number  of  persons  were  present  at  this 
interview.     Among  others  were  the  Mother  Superior  of  the 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  45 

convent,  and  the  gentleman  who  acted  as  guardian  to  Mad- 
ame Guyon's  children.  Charon  stated  to  her,  so  far  as  was 
necessary  to  have  a  proper  understanding  of  it,  the  arrange- 
ment which  was  proposed ;  he  urged  the  desirableness  of  it ; 
he  communicated  the  wishes  of  the  king;  and  concluded 
with  saying,  that,  if  she  would  consent  to  the  betrothment  of 
her  daughter  to  the  gentleman  proposed,  the  Marquis  of 
Chanvalon,  she  should  be  set  free  from  prison  within  eight 
days.  The  reply  of  Madame  Guyon  is  worthy  of  notice. 
"  God  allows  suffering,  but  never  allows  wrong.  I  see 
clearly  that  it  is  his  will,  that  I  should  remain  in  prison, 
and  endure  the  pains  which  are  connected  with  it ;  and  I 
am  entirely  content  that  it  should  be  so.  I  can  never  buy 
my  liberty  at  the  expense  of  sacrificing  my  daughter." 

7.  After  this,  things  looked  more  unfavorably  than  they 
had  previously  done  in  relation  to  the  continuance  of  her 
imprisonment.  Conversation,  which  had  predicted  her 
speedy  release,  suddenly  assumed  a  different  character.  "  I 
was  now  told,"  she  says,  "  that  my  persecutors  had  the  upper 
hand ;  and  the  reason  assigned  was,  that  they  had  succeeded 
in  convincing  the  king,  that  I  was  guilty  of  everything  which 
had  been  alleged  against  me.  And  hence  I  naturally  thought 
that  I  must  be  a  prisoner  all  the  rest  of  my  days."  And 
it  is  obvious  that  she  had  some  grounds  for  this  opinion. 
The  influence  of  M.  de  Harlai,  archbishop  of  Paris,  was 
very  great  and  decisive  in  this  matter  ;  and  that  influ- 
ence, whatever  might  have  been  the  views  and  wishes  of 
the  king  at  this  time,  was  entirely  against  her.  He  declared 
openly,  that  there  was  no  hope  for  her,  except  in  the  re- 
nouncement of  her  views,  and  in  repentance  for  the  course 
she  had  pursued.  If  she  would  confess  herself  wrong  and 
criminal,  and  make  retractions  and  confessions,  she  could  be 
freed ;  otherwise  not. 

8.  In  this  state  of  things,  she  wrote  a  letter,  giving  some 


46  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

account  of  her  situation,  to  the  celebrated  Pere  La  Chaise, 
confessor  and  religious  adviser  of  the  king,  a  man  of  ability, 
and  who  was  understood  to  have  influence  with  his  royal 
master.  She  took  this  course,  not  because  she  herself  anti- 
cipated favorable  results  from  it.  She  was  so  entirely  re- 
signed to  the  yoke  of  God,  whatever  it  might  be,  that  she 
felt  afraid  to  shake  it  off  by  means  of  any  mere  human  in- 
strumentality. Some  of  her  friends  could  not  understand 
fully  this  entire  trust  in  God.  "A  friend  of  mine,"  she  says, 
"  urged  me  to  write  to  Father  La  Chaise,  telling  me,  that  I 
ought  not  to  wait  for  God  to  do  every  thing,  without  doing 
myself  what  was  proper.  Such  a  course  would  be  tempting 
God."  It  was  out  of  deference,  therefore,  to  the  opinions  of 
others,  and  that  she  might  not  appear  unduly  regardless  of 
their  wishes  and  feelings,  that  she  wrote  the  letter ;  not  going, 
in  what  she  wrote,  much  into  particulars ;  but  denying  in 
general  terms  the  charges  which  were  brought  against  her, 
and  respectfully  soliciting  his  friendly  interposition.  The 
letter  is  as  follows. 

Letter  to  Pere  La  Chaise,  Confessor  to  Louis 
Fourteenth. 
"  Reverend  Father, 

"  It  is  not  frequently  the  case,  that  I  bring  my  troubles 
before  others.  And  certain  I  am,  that,  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, if  my  enemies  had  limited  their  attacks  to  the  liberty 
of  my  person  and  to  my  reputation,  I  should  have  remained 
in  silence.  But  they  have  net  only  shut  me  in  prison,  and 
attempted  to  blast  my  honor,  but  they  have  insisted  that 
I  have  failed  in  respect  for  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  have  denounced  me  as  a  heretic. 

"  Permit  me  to  say,  Reverend  Father,  in  soliciting  your 
kindness  and  protection,  that  I  ask  nothing  which  shall  be 
found  inconsistent  with  justice  and  the  truth.     The  judge  of 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  47 

the  Ecclesiastical  Court  has  been  in  my  prison  ;  and  has 
examined  the  statements  and  papers  which  were  laid  before 
him  against  me,  and  has  pronounced  them  false.  But  these 
related  chiefly  to  my  private  character.  In  regard  to  my 
doctrines,  he  required  some  explanations  ;  but  without  taking 
the  responsibility  of  pronouncing  them  heretical.  On  the 
contrary,  he  seemed  rather  to  be  satisfied  with  what  I  said. 
I  offered  also  to  submit  to  his  inspection  all  my  writings. 

"  Have  I  not  reason,  then,  to  think  that  it  is  something  be- 
sides my  alleged  want  of  Catholic  Orthodoxy,  which  keeps 
me  in  prison  ?  I  am  willing  to  submit  myself  to  a  disinter- 
ested tribunal;  but  I  have  reason  to  think,  that  my  per- 
secutors, some  of  them  at  least,  have  their  private  aims. 
Private  interests  have  mingled  in  those  proceedings  which 
have  brought  me  and  which  keep  me  here.  I  think,  Rev- 
erend Father,  that  it  would  be  easy  for  me  to  show  by  in- 
contestable proofs,  that  this  is  the  case,  if  I  had  the  opportu- 
nity to  do  it.  How  can  it  be  otherwise,  when  they  come  to 
me  with  menaces  ?  They  ask  my  compliance  and  consent  in 
transactions,  which  my  feelings  as  a  Christian  and  a  mother 
require  me  to  resist ;  and  they  threaten  me  with  a  continu- 
ance of  my  troubles,  if  I  refuse  to  do  what  my  conscience 
compels  me  not  to  do. 

"  Your  position,  Reverend  Father,  has  led  me  to  appeal  to 
you.  May  I  not  ask,  that  you  will  allow  yourself  to  look 
into  this  subject,  and  to  be  thoroughly  informed  in  regard  to 
it.  In  proclaiming  the  selfish  ends  of  some  of  my  enemies, 
and  in  asserting  my  own  innocence,  I  think  I  say  no  more 
than  I  shall  be  able  to  make  evident. 

u  I  can  only  add,  that  I  shall  be  extremely  grateful  for  any 
attention  and  aid  which  you  may  be  able  to  render  me. 

"Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 


48  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Speaking  of  this  letter,  she  says,  "  I  never  could  find  that 
the  letter  produced  any  good  effect,  but  rather  the  reverse. 
It  was  natural  that  La  Chaise  should  consult  with  the 
archbishop  on  the  subject,  who  assured  him  that  I  was 
very  criminal.  Counterfeit  letters  and  papers  also  were 
shown  him,  which  had  an  unpropitious  influence.  So  that 
this  effort  came  to  nothing."  Indeed,  she  informs  us,  that, 
contrary  to  the  opinions  of  h*er  friends,  she  had  at  first  but 
little  expectations  from  it.  She  delighted  in  looking  upon 
God  alone  as  her  true  Liberator ;  and  God's  time  of  deliv- 
erance had  not  yet  come. 

It  was  at  tins  time,  that  a  report  was  circulated,  probably 
without  much  foundation,  that  she  was  to  be  removed  to  an- 
other place  of  imprisonment,  and  placed  under  the  imme- 
diate inspection  of  La  Mothe,  who  was  a  severe  man,  and 
much  incensed  against  her.  This  report  was  calculated  to 
excite  some  feeling.  "  Some  of  my  friends,"  she  says,  "  wept 
bitterly  at  the  hearing  of  it ;  but  such  was  my  state  of  acqui- 
escence and  resignation,  that  it  failed  to  draw  any  tears 
from  me.  My  state,  so  far  as  I  myself  was  concerned,  might 
perhaps  be  described  in  those  expressions  of  Scripture, 
which  require  Christians  to  be  careful  for  nothing.  There 
appeared  to  be  in  me,  then,  as  I  find  to  be  in  me  now,  such 
an  entire  loss  of  what  regards  myself,  that  any  of  my  own 
interests  gave  me  little  pain  or  pleasure ;  ever  wanting  to 
will  or  wish  for  myself  only  the  very  thing  which  God  does. 
An  ignominious  death,  with  which  I  have  so  often  been 
threatened,  makes  not  any  alteration  in  me.  Sometimes  the 
idea  crosses  my  mind,  that  it  is  possible,  after  all  that  has 
passed,  that  I  may  still  be  cast  off  from  God's  presence ;  but 
even  this  thought,  terrible  and  overwhelming  as  it  is,  does 
not  take  away  the  deep  peace  and  satisfaction  which  I  feel 
in  connection  with  the  fulfilment  of  God's  will.  As  God 
will  always  be  infinitely  happy,  it  seems  to  me,  that  there  is 


OF    MADAME    GUY  ON.  49 

not  any  thing,  in  time  or  eternity,  which  can  hinder  me  from 
being  infinitely  happy,  even  in  hell  itself;  since  my  happi- 
ness is  in  God,  and  in  the  fulfilment  of  God's  will  alone. 
Such  a  state  of  mind  would  change  hell  itself,  considered 
merely  as  a  place  of  suffering,  into  heaven." 

10.  It  was  now  the  month  of  June,  1688.  The  small 
room,  in  which  she  was  shut  up,  was  so  situated  that  it  ad- 
mitted the  rays  of  the  sun  during  a  considerable  part  of  the 
day.  "  The  air  of  the  place,"  she  says,  "  where  I  was  en- 
closed, was  so  confined  and  heated,  that  it  seemed  like  a 
stove."  Her  feeble  constitution  sunk  under  it,  and  she  was 
taken  dangerously  ill.  The  gentleman  who  had  the  guar- 
dianship of  her  children,  a  counsellor-in-law,  and  apparently 
a  man  holding  a  respectable  position  in  society,  stated  her 
situation  to  the  archbishop,  and  made  some  reasonable  re- 
quests, having  relation  to  her  present  debilitated  and  dan- 
gerous state.  Harlai,  being  offended  at  what  he  considered 
her  obstinacy,  received  the  application  with  indifference  and 
almost  with  ridicule.  "  Very  sick,"  he  exclaimed  ;  "  very 
sick,  indeed,  I  suppose,  at  being  shut  up  within  four  walls, 
after  what  she  has  done."     He  granted  nothing. 

11.  She  was  favored,  however,  after  a  time,  through  the 
sympathy  of  those  who  had  the  immediate  charge  of  the 
convent,  in  obtaining  the  assistance  of  a  maid-servant,  which 
had  hitherto  been  denied ;  and  also  the  aid  of  a  physician 
and  surgeon.  It  was  done,  it  is  true,  in  violation  of  the 
orders  of  her  imprisonment.  But  Madame  Guyon  remarks, 
"  It  was  God  who  put  it  into  their  hearts,  and  gave  them  the 
determination  to  do  it ;  for  had  I  remained  as  I  was,  without 
any  proper  attendance  and  assistance,  I  must  have  died.  I 
certainly  think  I  may  call  the  treatment,  which  I  expe 
rienced  under  these  circumstances,  unkind  and  unprece- 
dented. My  enemies  were  numerous  and  clamorous,  and 
seemed  to  rejoice  in  the  anticipation  of  my  death.     It  wa> 

vol.  it.  5 


50  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

not  merely  death  which  was  before  me,  but  disgrace.  My 
friends  were  afraid  lest  I  should  die ;  for  by  my  death  my 
memory  would  have  been  covered  with  reproach,  and  my 
enemies  would  have  triumphed ;  but  God  would  not  suffer 
them  to  have  that  joy.  After  bringing  me  down,  he  was 
pleased  to  raise  me  up  again." 

12.  One  of  the  charges  brought  against  her  was,  that  she 
did  not  worship  the  Saints,  and  particularly  the  virgin  Mary. 
On  what  principles  she  maintained  the  consistency  of  her 
Catholic  profession  with  her  refusal  to  worship  Saints,  and 
the  Virgin,  is  not  entirely  obvious  ;  but  undoubtedly  she  was 
able  to  do  it  to  her  own  satisfaction ;  regarding,  as  she  did, 
the  Church,  at  that  time,  as  being  in  some  things  perverted 
and  in  others  remiss,  though  not  hopelessly  so.  She  refers 
to  the  subject  in  the  following  terms : — "  One  day,"  she  says, 
"  considering  in  my  mind  why  it  was,  that  I  could  not,  like 
others,  call  upon  any  of  the  saints  in  prayer,  though  closely 
united  to  them  in  God,  the  thought  occurred  to  me,  [and 
she  merely  mentions  it  as  a  thought  or  suggestion,  and  not  as 
a  well-considered  and  received  belief,]  that  domestics,  in  other 
words  those  in  a  merely  justified  state,  the  beginners  in  the 
Christian  life,  the  servants  rather  than  the  sons  of  God,  might 
possibly  have  some  need  of  the  influence  and  intercession  of 
the  saints  ;  while  the  spouse,  [by  which  term  she  means  the 
truly  sanctified  soul,]  obtains  every  thing  she  needs  without 
such  helps.  God,  regarding  such  a  soul  as  purchased  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  as  brought  into  union  with  himself, 
and  sustained  in  union  by  Christ's  merits,  neither  seeks  nor 
accepts  any  other  influence,  or  any  other  intercession.  It  is 
his  nature  to  bless  her,  because  she  is  made  a  partaker  of 
himself.  His  infinite  spirit  of  love  is  poured  out  upon  those 
who  are  thus  in  divine  union.  Oh  !  how  little  known  is  the 
holy  Author  of  all  good ! " 

"  They  examine  my  actions,"  she  says  again.     "  They  cry 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  51 

out,  that  I  do  not  repeat  the  prescribed  prayers,  and  that 
I  have  no  devotion  for  the  Holy  Virgin.  0  divine  Mary ! 
thou  knowest  how  my  heart  is  singly  devoted  to  God ;  and 
thou  knowest  the  union  which  he  has  formed  between  us  in 
himself.  They  blame  me  for  not  worshipping  thee.  All 
that  is  left  to  me  to  say  is,  that  my  will  is  lost  in  the  will  of 
my  heavenly  Father,  and  that  I  can  do  nothing  but  what  he 
directs." 

13.  Soon  after  her  recovery  from  her  sickness  in  prison, 
she  experienced  another  trial.  The  proposition  of  her 
daughter's  betrothment,  which  she  had  once  generously  re- 
fused at  the  price  of  the  continuance  of  her  own  imprison- 
ment, was  renewed.  Again,  as  in  the  first  instance,  a  num- 
ber of  persons  were  assembled  together  in  the  room  in  which 
she  was  confined.  She  names  Charon,  the  judge  in  ecclesi- 
astical cases,  also  the  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  Monsieur  Pirot, 
who  had  been  present  at  the  private  examinations  already 
mentioned,  La  Mothe,  and  the  person  who  acted  as  guardian 
of  her  children.  The  terms  of  the  renewed  proposition  were 
the  same  as  before,  namely,  that  her  consent  to  the  proposed 
arrangement  should  be  followed  by  her  release  from  prison  ; 
but  circumstances  had  not  altered,  and  her  answer  was  the 
same,  that  she  would  not  purchase  her  liberty  at  the  expense 
of  sacrificing  her  daughter.  The  answer  could  not  fail  to  be 
unpleasant  and  unsatisfactory  to  those  who  were  so  much 
interested  in  carrying  this  arrangement  through ;  but  they 
paid  her  the  compliment  of  saying,  that  her  treatment  of 
them,  under  circumstances  so  embarrassing,  was  character- 
ized by  the  highest  propriety  and  courtesy. 

14.  An  effort,  also,  was  once  more  made  by  her  enemies 
to  draw  from  her  some  retraction  of  her  opinions,  and  some 
acknowledgment  of  wrong-doing.  "  They  wanted  such  re- 
tractions and  confessions,"  she  says,  "in  order  that  they 
might  serve  as  a  proof  of  my  guilt  to  posterity.     Any  thing 


52  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  this  kind,  under  my  own  hand,  would  be  an  evidence,  that 
they  were  rigid  in  imprisoning  me.  And  that  was  not  all. 
Any  such  papers,  drawn  up  as  they  wished  them  to  be  drawn 
up,  would  tend  to  vindicate  their  sullied  reputation  in  another 
respect,  and  to  convince  the  world,  that  they  had  properly 
and  justly  caused  the  imprisonment  of  Father  La  Combe. 
They  went  so  far  as  to  make  alluring  promises  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  use  violent  threats  on  the  other,  in  order  to  in- 
duce me  to  write,  that  La  Combe  was  a  deceiver.  Neither 
their  threats  nor  promises  had  the  influence  which  they  de- 
sired. I  answered  that  I  was  content  to  suffer  whatever  it 
should  please  God  to  order  or  permit ;  and  that  I  would 
sooner  not  only  be  imprisoned,  but  would  rather  die  upon 
the  scaffold,  than  utter  the  falsehoods  they  proposed." 

15.  She  makes  some  remarks  in  connection  with  these 
transactions,  which  I  think  worthy  of  quoting,  because  they 
involve  a  distinction  in  religious  things  which  is  not  often 
made.  "  During  the  period,"  she  says,  "  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment dispensations,  there  were  several  of  the  Lord's  martyrs, 
who  suffered  for  asserting  the  existence  of  the  one  true  God, 
and  for  trusting  in  him.  The  doctrine  of  the  one  true  God, 
in  distinction  from  the  heathen  doctrine  of  a  multiplicity  of 
gods,  was  the  test  by  which  conflicting  opinions  were  tried 
and  in  supporting  which  there  were  some  who  were  martyrs 
to  this  important  truth. 

"At  a  later  period  another  great  truth  was  proclaimed,  that 
of  Jesus  Christ  crucified  for  sinners.  This  was  a  truth  so 
much  at  variance,  either  in  the  principle  or  the  facts  of  its 
announcement,  with  men's  preconceived  opinions  and  feel- 
ings, that  it  naturally  arrested  their  attention,  and  provoked 
their  hostility.  And  accordingly,  in  the  primitive  times  of 
the  Christian  church,  there  were  those  who  suffered  and  who 
shed  their  blood  for  this  truth. 

"  At  the  present  time,"  she  says.  "  there  are  those  who 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  53 

are  martyrs  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  other  words,  there  are 
those  who  suffer  for  proclaiming  the  great  truth,  that  the 
reign  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  souls  of  men  has  come  ;  and 
especially  for  proclaiming  their  personal  and  entire  depen- 
dence on  his  divine  presence  and  influence.  It  is  the  doc- 
trine of  pure  love,  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  within  us,  as  the  Life  of  our  own  life,  which  is 
to  be  the  test  of  spiritual  perception  and  fidelity  in  the  pres- 
ent and  in  future  times.  The  Spirit  of  God,  in  the  language 
of  the  prophet  Joel,  is  to  be  poured  out  upon  all  flesh. 

"  Those,  who  have  suffered  for  the  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ  crucified  for  the  world's  sins,  have  been  truly  glori- 
ous in  the  reproach  and  sorrows  they  have  endured;  but 
those  who  have  suffered,  and  are  destined  to  suffer,  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  coming  and  of  the  triumphant  reign  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  men's  souls,  will  not  be  less  so.  The  doc- 
trine of  Christ  crucified  as  an  atoning  sacrifice  is  essentially 
triumphant.  Satan  has  ceased,  in  a  great  degree,  to  exer- 
cise his  power  against  those  who  receive  and  believe  it. 
But,  on  the  contrary,  he  has  attacked  and  will  attack,  both  in 
body  and  in  spirit,  those  who  advocate  the  dominion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  who  have  felt  his  celestial  impulse  and 
power  in  their  own  hearts.  O  Holy  Spirit,  a  Spirit  of  love ! 
let  me  ever  be  subjected  to  thy  will ;  and  as  a  leaf  is  moved 
before  the  wind,  so  let  my  soul  be  influenced  and  moved  by 
the  breath  of  thy  wisdom.  And  as  the  impetuous  wind 
breaks  down  all  that  resists  it,  even  the  towering  cedars 
which  stand  in  opposition  ;  so  may  the  Holy  Ghost,  operating 
within  me,  smite  and  break  down  every  thing  which  opposes 
him." 

16.  Upon  these  views,  which  indicate  the  intellectual 
insight,  as  well  as  the  deep  inward  experience,  of  this  re- 
markable woman,  I  think  it  may  be  proper  to  add  one  or 
two  remarks.     At  the  time  of  its  first  announcement,  no 

vol.  ir.  5  * 


54  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

doctrine  could  be  more  important  than  that  of  the  divine 
unity,  considered  in  distinction  from  that  of  polytheism. 
Like  many  other  great  truths,  it  was  at  first  contested ;  it 
had  its  advocates  and  martyrs  ;  but  it  prevailed. 

The  recognition  of  God,  as  one  God,  gave  rise  to  the  in- 
quiry, —  How  does  this  one  God,  who  in  being  one  com- 
bines in  himself  all  that  is  good  and  true,  and  how  must  he, 
from  his  very  nature,  regard  all  sin  ;  and  on  what  principles 
does  he  forgive  it  ?  The  question  is  solved  in  the  announce- 
ment of  the  other  doctrine  to  which  she  refers,  namely,  that 
of  Christ  crucified.  "  Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there 
is  no  remission."  "He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions, 
and  bruised  for  our  iniquities?  God  not  only  hates  sin, 
but  he  punishes  it.  He  has  no  more  moral  right  or  power 
to  detach  suffering  from  sin,  than  he  has  to  detach  peace  and 
joy  from  holiness.  The  connection  between  them  is  fixed, 
inseparable,  and  can  no  more  change  than  the  divine  nature 
can  change.  Where  there  is  sin,  there  must  be  suffering ; 
and  suffering  flowing  from  sin,  and  in  consequence  of  sin,  is 
something  more  than  suffering ;  it  is  punishment.  But  in 
the  mystery  of  the  mission,  person,  and  sufferings  of  his  Son, 
(a  mystery  which  even  the  angels  unavailingly  desire  to 
look  into,)  God  has  so  taken  this  suffering  upon  himself,  that, 
without  any  violation  of  the  claims  of  unchangeable  rectitude, 
he  can  now  extend  forgiveness  to  his  rebellious  creatures, 
take  them  once  more  to  his  bosom,  and  bid  them  live  for 
ever.  This  great  doctrine  also  has  had  its  martyrs ;  and 
although  the  contest  is  not  entirely  ended,  it  may  be  said,  I 
think,  to  have  had  its  day  of  triumph. 

But  there  is  another  great  truth,  of  which  it  may  at  length 
be  said,  that  its  hour  has  come  ;  —  namely,  that  of  God, 
in  the  person  of  the  inward  Teacher  and  Comforter,  dwell- 
ing in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  changing  them  by  his 
divine  operation  into  the  holy  and  beautiful  image  of  him 


OP   MADAME    GUTON.  55 

who  shed  his  blood  for  thein.  Christ,  received  by  faith, 
came  into  the  world  to  save  men  from  the  penalty  of  sin ; 
but  it  has  not  been  so  fully  understood,  or  at  least  not  so 
fully  recognized,  that  he  came  also  to  save  them  from  sin 
itself.  The  time  in  which  this  latter  work  shall  develop 
itself  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  period  of  the  reign  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  now  some  time  since  the  voice  has 
gone  forth  ;  an  utterance  from  the  Eternal  Mind,  not  as  yet 
generally  received,  but  which  will  never  cease  to  be  re- 
peated ;  —  Put  away  all  sin  ;  Be  like  Christ ;  Be  ye  holt. 

In  announcing  the  coming  of  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  proclaiming  the  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification, 
some  have  already  suffered,  and  others  may  perhaps  suffer 
in  time  to  come.  Until  the  secret  history  of  dungeons  is 
written,  it  will  not  be  known  how  many  in  France,  in  Spain, 
in  Italy,  have  suffered  as  "  martyrs  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
But  that  probably  will  never  be  done.  And  there  is  a 
reason  for  it,  which  does  not  exist  in  other  cases.  The 
martyrs  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  themselves  the  subjects  of  the 
inward  power  which  they  advocate,  suffer  and  even  die  in 
silence.  They  make  no  cry ;  they  know  that  what  they 
suffer,  whatever  may  be  the  guilt  of  the  instruments  of  it,  is 
one  of  the  incidents  in  the  developments  of  that  Eternal 
Will  which  will  never  fail  to  be  accomplished,  and  can  never 
cease  to  be  loved.  And  hence  they  would  not  have  it  to  be 
otherwise  than  it  is;  and  without  lifting  up  their  voice,  ex- 
cept in  prayer  for  their  enemies,  they  die  as  Christ  died. 

17.  The  kingdom  of  the  Holy  Ghost  has  come.  Its  be- 
ginnings are  feeble,  it  is  true.  We  see  but  here  and  there  a 
single  gleam  of  that  glorious  day  which  shall  shine  upon  the 
world,  and  make  "  all  nations  into  one."  But  the  signs  of  its 
full  approach  are  too  marked,  too  evident,  to  be  mistaken. 
There  will  be  opposition  from  its  enemies,  and  mistakes 
made  by  its  friends.     Happy  will  it  be,  if  its  friends  shall 


56  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

remember,  that  it  is  a  kingdom  which  comes  without  observa- 
tion.  The  kingdom  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may  be  described 
emphatically  as  the  kingdom  of  Peace  ;  of  peace  inward  and 
outward,  of  peace  individual  and  social.  It  is  those  in 
whom  this  divine  kingdom  is  set  up,  whom  Christ  describes 
as  the  "  little  ones  ;  "  men  who  move  humbly  and  quietly  in 
the  sphere  in  which  Providence  has  placed  them ;  the  meek 
ones  of  the  earth.  Their  light,  which  shines  in  their  ex- 
ample, illuminates  without  attracting  attention  ;  like  that  of 
the  sun,  which  scarcely  receives  our  notice,  while  meteors 
are  gazed  at  with  astonishment.  They  are  men  who  "  re- 
sist not  evil ; "  men  that  cast  all  their  cares  upon  Him  who 
"  careth  for  them ; "  men  who  hold  communion  with  God 
in  that  divine  silence  of  the  mind,  which  results  from  sins 
forgiven,  from  passions  subdued,  and  from  faith  victorious. 

Behold  here  the  dominion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  triumph 
of  the  true  Millennium,  the  reign  of  holy  love  ! 

18.  "We  may  properly  introduce  here,  as  illustrative 
further  of  the  labors  of  her  prison,  a  few  passages  from  the 
letters  which  she  wrote,  while  she  was  thus  shut  up. 


EXTRACTS    OF   LETTERS    FROM   HER   PRISON. 

«  To  . 

"  I  have  just  received  your  kind  letter ;  and  I  can 
assure  you,  that  it  has  comforted  me  in  my  place  of  confine- 
ment, which  I  may  perhaps  call  my  place  of  exile.  It  some- 
times seems  to  me,  that  I  can  apply  to  myself  the  expres- 
sions which  occur  in  the  Psalmist,  when  he  found  himself 
among  those  with  whom  he  had  no  similarity  of  spirit.  Woe 
is  me  that  I  sojourn  in  Mesech;  that  I  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
Kedah  ;  my  soul  hath  long  dwelt  ivith  him  that  hateth  peace. 
Ps.  cxx.  5.  While  I  am  kept  here  by  the  power  of  my 
enemies,  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  those  who  need  spirituaj 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  57 

instruction.  What  a  mysterious  providence  it  is,  which 
keeps  me  out  of  my  place  of  labor,  out  of  my  element !  It 
looks  to  me,  as  if  there  were  great  numbers  of  children  who 
were  asking  for  bread,  and  that  there  is  scarcely  any  one  to 
break  it  to  them." 


"To 


"  I  think  you  will  believe  me  when  I  say,  that  your 
soul  is  very  precious  to  me.  I  can  assure  you,  that  there  is 
not  a  day  passes,  in  which  I  do  not  offer  up  prayers  to  the 
Lord  for  your  spiritual  good.  If  my  personal  toils  and 
sacrifices  could  be  effectual  in  accomplishing  such  an  object, 
it  seems  to  me  that  I  could  endure  any  thing,  in  order  that 
you  might  be  resigned  to  God  without  any  reserve. 

"  It  is  no  news  to  you,  that  I  am  a  prisoner,  and  always 
kept  under  lock  and  key  ;  and  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  woman  who  has  charge  of  the  room  in  which  I  am  shut 
up,  I  am  not  permitted  to  speak  to  any  one  either  within  or 
without,  unless  it  be  by  a  special  arrangement.  I  am  afflict- 
ed, although  I  have  firm  trust  and  rest  in  God.  And  will 
not  one,  who  I  know  is  not  indifferent  to  my  situation,  im- 
part to  me  the  great  consolation  of  knowing,  that  she  has 
given  her  whole  heart  to  the  Saviour !  I  sometimes  seek 
you  and  find  you  in  those  seasons  of  communion  which  I 
have  with  God ;  and  it  will  be  your  own  fault,  if  I  do  not 
find  you  there  still  more. 

"  The  ecclesiastical  judge,  and  Monsieur  Pirot,  have  been 
in  my  prison,  examining  me  in  relation  to  my  book  on 
Prayer.  I  told  them  at  once,  that  I  had  no  hesitation  in 
submitting  myself  and  my  writings  to  the  proper  ecclesiasti- 
cal judicatories ;  and  still  they  do  not  cease  to  put  their  in- 
terrogations to  me  in  this  private  manner.  In  respect  to  my 
answers,  I  can  only  say  that  I  answer  what  the  Lord  gives 
me  to  answer.     Oh !  how  sad  it  is  to  see  how  much  opposi- 


58  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

tion  there  is  to  the  religion  of  the  heart !  I  see  and  hear  so 
much  of  it,  that  I  am  sometimes  overwhelmed  and  con- 
founded, and  hardly  know  what  I  am  saying  or  doing.  I 
have,  however,  the  consolation  which  is  given  to  every 
heart  that  has  truly  found  God.  Nothing  can  really  trouble 
such  a  heart,  because,  recognizing  the  will  of  God  in  every 
thing,  it  has,  under  all  circumstances,  that  which  it  truly 
loves  and  desires. 

"  In  regard  to  yourself,  you  will  permit  me  to  say,  that 
I  sometimes  feel  a  degree  of  solicitude  on  your  account.  I 
must  confess,  that  I  have  some  fears,  lest  at  your  tender  age 
you  may  be  exposed  to  temptations,  and  may  turn  away 
from  God.  But  here,  as  every  where  else,  I  have  but  one 
resource ;  —  I  must  resign  you  into  God's  hands,  never  ceas- 
ing to  entreat  him,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  for  the  good 
of  your  soul.  Oh !  what  a  happiness  it  is  to  be  thoroughly 
resigned  to  Providence  !  —  a  resignation  which  constitutes 
the  true  repose  of  life. 

"  I  have  one  word  more  to  say.  When  I  came  here,  my 
daughter  was  taken  from  me.  Those  who  took  her  do  not 
allow  me  to  know  where  she  is.  You  will  permit  me,  if  you 
can  obtain  a  knowledge  of  her  situation,  to  ask  your  friendly 
interest  in  her  behalf.  If  I  were  a  criminal  condemned  to 
death,  they  could  not  easily  give  more  rigorous  orders  con- 


"To 


"  It  seems,  then,  that  M. ,  of  whom  we  had  hoped 

better  things,  has  become  unstable.  The  temptations  of  the 
world  have  shaken,  and  have  even  overcome,  his  religious 
purposes.  This  is  discreditable  to  him,  and  is  afflicting  to 
us ;  but,  to  me  at  least,  it  is  not  wholly  without  its  advan- 
tage.    The  more  I  see  of  the  want  of  firmness  and  stability 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  59 

in  men,  the  more  I  am  bound  and  fastened,  as  it  were,  to 
God,  who  is  without  change. 

"  I  must  confess,  if  the  heart  of  her  to  whom  I  now  write, 
were  not  more  fully  fixed  in  God,  I  should  be  much  con- 
cerned and  grieved  at  it.  Oh  my  friend !  aim  higher  and 
higher.  What  would  I  not  suffer  to  see  you  wholly  deliv- 
ered from  the  inward  power  of  sin  !  I  can  assure  you,  that 
without  ceasing  I  pray  to  God  in  your  behalf,  that  he  may 
deliver  you  from  the  life  of  self  in  all  its  forms ;  that  he  him- 
self may  be  your  way  and  truth  and  life,  and  that  he 
may  establish  you  in  the  blessedness  of  pure  love. 

"  I  sometime  since  wrote  a  little  book,  as  you  perhaps 
know,  entitled,  A  Short  and  Easy  Method  of  Prayer.  The 
publication  of  this  book  was  one  of  the  alleged  causes  of  my 
confinement  in  this  place.  Since  I  have  been  here,  persons 
have  been  into  my  prison,  and  have  put  to  me  some  formal 
interrogatories  in  relation  to  the  book  and  other  matters.  I 
have  found  some  difficulty  in  answering ;  and  have  been 
obliged  to  say,  or  rather  have  found  it  best  to  say,  what  the 
Lord  gave  me  to  say  at  the  time,  without  much  deliberation. 
I  have  at  some  times,  in  the  course  of  these  interrogatories, 
been  strongly  inclined  to  answer  nothing,  to  he  entirely  silent. 
I  certainly  have  an  example  of  such  a  proceeding,  which  it 
would  not  be  discreditable  to  follow,  — -  that  of  our  blessed 
Saviour,  who,  on  being  interrogated  before  Pilate,  answered 
not  a  word.  If  I  should  take  the  course  of  declining  to 
answer  the  questions  which  may  be  put  to  me,  I  shall  of 
course  be  regarded  as  entertaining  erroneous  opinions,  and 
be  denounced  as  heretical.  And  is  even  this  to  be  regarded 
as  among  the  greatest  of  evils?  Was  not  our  beloved 
Saviour  looked  upon  and  denounced  in  the  same  manner  ?  Is 
it  a  hard  matter  to  walk  in  his  footsteps,  and  to  suffer  as  he 
suffered  ?  When  I  am  thinking  upon  these  things,  I  some- 
times find  my  heart,  in  its  perplexity,  looking  up  and  saying* 


60  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

[in  the  language  of  the  Vulgate  translation  of  the  Bible,J 
Judica  me,  Deus,  et  discerne  causam  meam  ;  —  Judge 
me,  0  God  !  and  plead  my  cause." 

19.  Among  the  other  labors,  in  this  her  first  imprison- 
ment, was  the  writing  of  her  Life.  The  greater  part,  but 
not  the  whole  of  it,  was  written  here.  Some  chapters  ap- 
pear to  have  been  written  at  a  later  period.  And  accord- 
ingly we  find  the  following  memorandum,  inserted  in  the 
eighth  chapter  of  the  Third  Part :  — 

Completed  thus  far,  on  this  the  22d  of  August,  1688.  1 
am  now  forty  years  of  age,  and  in  prison  ;  a  place  which 
I  love  and  cherish,  as  1  find  it  sanctified  by  the  Lord. 

20.  The  poems  of  Madame  Guyon  breathe  the  same 
deeply  devout  spirit  which  pervades  her  other  writings.  As 
the  desire  is  often  expressed  to  see  them,  we  have  thought  it 
proper  to  insert  some  of  them  from  time  to  time,  where  it 
could  be  done  without  too  much  interruption  of  the  narra- 
tive. The  following  is  one  of  the  poems,  the  origin  of 
which  I  think  we  may  probably  ascribe  to  this  period  of  her 
life.  It  is  selected  and  re-arranged  from  a  longer  one  ;  and 
is  one  of  those  which  were  translated  by  Cowper. 

god's  glory  and  goodness. 

Infinite  God  !    thou  great,  unrivalled  one  ! 
Whose  light  eclipses  that  of  yonder  sun ; 
Compared  with  thine,  how  dim  his  beauty  seems ! 
How  quenched  the  radiance  of  his  golden  beams  ! 

O  God !  thy  creatures  in  one  strain  agree ;  — 
All,  in  all  times  and  places,  speak  of  thee  ;  — 
Even  I,  with  trembling  heart  and  stammering  tongue^ 
Attempt  thy  praise,  and  join  the  general  song. 

Almighty  Former  of  this  wondrous  plan 
Faintly  reflected  in  thine  image,  man  ; 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  61 

Holy  and  just !    The  greatness  of  whose  name 
Fills  and  supports  this  universal  frame ! 

Diffused  throughout  infinitude  of  space, 
Who  art  thyself  thine  own  vast  dwelling-place ; 
Soul  of  our  soul !  whom  yet  no  sense  of  ours 
Discerns,  eluding  our  most  active  powers ;  — 

Encircling  shades  attend  thine  awful  throne  ; 
That  veil  thy  face,  and  keep  thee  still  unknown  ; 
Unknown,  though  dwelling  in  our  inmost  part, 
Lord  of  the  thoughts,  and  Sovereign  of  the  heart . 

Thou  art  my  bliss !  the  light  by  which  I  move  ! 
In  thee,  O  God !  dwells  all  that  I  can  love. 
Where'er  I  turn,  I  see  thy  power  and  grace, 
Which  ever  watch,  and  bless  our  heedless  race. 

Oh  !  then,  repeat  the  truth,  that  never  tires ; 
No  God  is  like  the  God  my  soul  desires  ; 
He,  at  whose  voice  heaven  trembles,  even  he, 
Great  as  he  is,  knows  how  to  stoop  to  me. 

Vain  pageantry  and  pomp  of  earth,  adieu ! 
I  have  no  wish,  no  memory  for  you ! 
Rich  in  God's  love,  I  feel  my  noblest  pride 
Spring  from  the  sense  of  having  nought  beside 


VOL.  II. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  22d  of  August,  1688.  Her  mental  state  at  that  time.  Efforts 
of  her  friends  unavailing.  Madame  de  Miramion.  She  visits  the 
Convent  of  St.  Marie.  Becomes  acquainted  with  Madame  Guy  on. 
Makes  known  her  case  to  Madame  de  Maintenon,  who  intercedes 
for  her  with  Louis  Fourteenth.  Madame  Guyon,  released  from 
her  first  imprisonment  by  the  king's  order,  in  October  1688,  after 
being  imprisoned  eight  months.  Resides  with  Madame  de  Mira- 
mion. Marriage  of  her  daughter  with  the  Count  de  Vaux.  No- 
tices of  his  family.  Goes  to  reside  with  her  daughter.  Letters. 
A  Poem. 

"  On  the  22d  of  August,"  she  says,  "  as  I  awoke  in  the 
morning,  the  Saviour  was  very  distinctly  present  to  my 
mind.  I  seemed  to  have  a  distinct  apprehension  of  him,  as 
surrounded  by  the  members  of  the  great  Jewish  council, 
who  were  plotting  against  him.  I  also  had  a  remarkably 
distinct  conception  of  the  deep  sorrow  and  agony  of  his 
spirit.  My  own  situation,  in  its  external  aspects,  seemed  to 
be  somewhat  similar.  As  I  thought  upon  this  similarity, 
my  spirit  was  brought  into  a  situation  somewhat  like  that 
which  I  appeared  to  see  in  him ;  and  I  not  only  experienced, 
in  some  respects,  a  similarity  of  outward  treatment,  but  was 
made  like  him,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  in  the  deep  sorrow  of  spirit 
which  I  endured  for  a  short  time.  But,  though  inwardly  as 
well  as  outwardly  afflicted,  my  soul  had  rest  in  God.  I 
knew  that  none  but  God  could  deliver  me  out  of  prison ; 
and  I  felt  satisfied  that  he  would  do  it,  at  some  future  time, 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  63 

by  his  own  right  hand.    But  in  what  manner  he  would  do  it,  I 
did  not  know ;  hut  was  entirely  willing  to  leave-  it  to  himself." 

2.  Her  prospects  of  an  immediate  release  varied.  Some- 
times they  appeared  favorable  ;  —  an  aspect  of  things  which 
a  change  of  circumstances  would  again  perplex,  and  render 
doubtful.  Her  friends,  some  of  whom  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  mention  as  holding  a  high  position  in  society, 
seem  to  have  done  every  thing  which  the  urgency  of  the 
case  and  propriety  would  warrant.  As  the  ear  of  the  king, 
however,  was  reached  in  other  quarters  and  controlled  by 
other  influences,  they  were  not  able,  at  present,  to  effect  any 
thing  in  her  behalf.  Her  imprisonment  continued,  till  it 
was  terminated  in  the  following  manner. 

3.  There  was  a  lady  in  Paris,  Madame  de  Miramion, 
who  was  much  distinguished  for  her  piety  and  good  works. 
It  is  an  evidence  of  her  high  character,  that  she  is  particu- 
larly mentioned  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Marquis  de  Dangeau,* 
as  being  very  kind  to  the  poor,  as  having  aided  in  founding 
many  charitable  institutions,  and  as  being  especially  ap- 
proved and  favored  in  her  efforts  by  the  king.  This  worthy 
and  distinguished  woman  sometimes  found  it  convenient  to 
visit  the  convent  of  St.  Marie.  As  she  called  there,  from 
time  to  time,  and  visited  its  inmates,  she  could  hardly  fail  to 
learn  something  of  the  personal  history  and  of  the  religious 
experience  of  Madame  Guyon.  The  Prioress  and  the  Nuns 
gave  her  a  favorable  account ;  so  much  so  as  to  do  away 
those  unfavorable  impressions  which  she  had  received,  in 
common  with  others,  from  the  current  reports  circulated  by 
her  enemies.  Not  satisfied  with  what  she  heard,  she  sought 
the  personal  acquaintance  of  Madame  Guyon  ;  and  learned 
more  fully  from  her  own  lips,  those  lessons  of  the  inward 
life,  upon  which   she  herself  had   already  entered.      She 


*  Memoirs  of  the  Marquis  de  Dangeau,  under  date  of  April  24th,  1696 


64  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

needed  no  further  evidence  than  that  which  was  thus  pre* 
sented  before  her.  She  felt  that  the  piety  of  Madame 
Guyon,  rather  than  her  crimes,  had  been  the  real  source  of 
the  aspersions  which  had  been  cast  upon  her,  and  the  secret 
cause  which  had  brought  her  to  a  prison. 

4.  This  lady  conversed  with  Madame  de  Maintenon,  whose 
peculiar  but  influential  position  at  that  time  is  well  known  to 
the  readers  of  French  history,  in  relation  to  the  character 
of  Madame  Guyon,  and  the  treatment  she  had  experienced. 
The  account,  which  she  felt  herself  justified  in  giving,  of 
her  correct  morals,  piety,  and  labors,  made  a  favorable  im- 
pression. This  impression  was  sustained  and  increased  by 
the  efforts  of  Madame  de  Maisonfort,  who  was  a  distant 
relative  of  Madame  Guyon,  and  also  by  the  representations 
of  the  Duchesses  Beauvilliers  and  Chevreuse.  The  influ- 
ence of  Madame  de  Maintenon  with  Louis  Fourteenth,  to 
whom  she  was  at  this  time,  or  at  a  somewhat  later  period, 
privately  married,  was  very  great.  This  influence,  im- 
pelled by  sentiments  of  kindness  as  well  as  of  justice,  she 
now  felt  it  her  duty  to  exert  in  favor  of  Madame  Guyon, 
as  she  had  repeatedly  done  in  other  instances  for  those  who 
had  innocently  suffered.  It  is  true,  that  she  had  previously 
felt  doubts  on  the  subject,  and  had  perhaps  entertained  some 
prejudices  in  relation  to  Madame  Guyon  ;  but  the  state- 
ments made  by  the  distinguished  ladies  we  have  mentioned, 
entirely  decided  her.  Embracing  the  first  favorable  opportu- 
nity, she  laid  the  subject  before  Louis;  but  she  found  his  mind 
so  fully  possessed  with  the  idea  of  the  heresies  of  Madame 
Guyon,  that  she  desisted  for  a  time  from  her  benevolent  effort. 

5.  With  that  clear  discernment  which  characterized  her, 
she  sought  another  opportunity,  when  she  would  be  likely  to 
bring  a  more  powerful  influence  to  bear.  At  this  time, 
availing  herself  of  all  the  information  she  had  obtained,  she 
succeeded  in  her  efforts.     The  king,  either  convinced  by  her 


OF    MADAME    GUYON,  65 

statements,  or  yielding  to  her  importunity,  gave  orders  that 
Madame  Guyon  should  be  freed  from  imprisonment.  The 
information  was  communicated  to  her  by  the  Prioress  of  the 
Convent.  The  guardian  of  her  children  was  present  with 
the  Prioress  at  this  interesting  moment,  —  a  gentleman  who 
had  already  given  his  sympathy  and  aid  in  repeated  in- 
stances. They  both  testified  great  joy  at  this  pleasing  event, 
in  which  her  other  friends,  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  it, 
warmly  participated.  She  was  released  early  in  October, 
1688  ;  having  been  imprisoned  a  little  more  than  eight  months. 
6.  Madame  Guyon  was  not  insensible  to  a  change  in  her 
situation  so  propitious ;  and,  while  she  blessed  God  on  her 
own  account,  she  sympathized  deeply  and  sincerely  in  the 
joy  of  her  friends.  But  her  own  joy  was  mitigated  and 
tranquillized  by  the  principles  of  her  higher  experience. 
There  was  something  in  her  which  seemed  to  say,  that  to 
the  soul,  which  cannot  separate  God  from  events,  there  are 
circumstances  in  which  imprisonment  may  not  be  less  dear 
than  freedom.  To  the  physical  nature  and  to  the  merely 
natural  sensibilities  undoubtedly,  they  may  be  very  different. 
But  to  the  principle  of  religious  Faith,  which  is  the  true  life 
of  the  soul,  and  which  in  its  highest  exercises  makes  God 
morally  one  with  the  soul,  they  are  the  same.  Her  own 
soul,  dissociating  itself  by  faith  from  secondary  causes,  and 
resting  in  the  first  great  Cause,  thought  but  little  of  the  in- 
struments which  God  had  employed.  Her  enemies  had 
gone  just  so  far  as  God  permitted.  It  was  God  who  had 
imprisoned  her  ;  it  was  God  who  had  given  her  deliverance  ; 
and  as  she  entered  her  prison  with  calm  peace  and  joy,  so 
she  left  it  with  the  same  feelings.  She  triumphed  in  the 
triumph  of  her  enemies,  no  less  than  in  the  triumph  of  her 
friends ;  because  in  both  cases  the  will  of  the  Lord  was 
accomplished ;  that  will  in  which  her  soul  now  rested  con- 
tinually with  resignation  and  delight. 

VOL.  IT.  6  * 


66  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  For  a  long  time,"  she  says,  "  my  soul  has  been  entirely 
independent  of  every  thing  which  is  not  God.  While  it  re- 
cognizes the  ties  and  the  charities  of  life,  it  cannot  be  said, 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  terms,  to  stand  in  need  of  any 
creature ;  and  if  it  were  alone  in  the  world  in  its  present 
state,  it  would  be  infinitely  content,  since  it  has  ceased  to 
find  its  happiness  in  any  earthly  attachments.  This  mortifi- 
cation of  every  desire,  this  disrelish  and  incapacity  of  resting 
in  any  created  thing,  this  perfect  satisfaction  in  God's  deal- 
ings, exempted  from  every  private  and  selfish  wish,  is  the 
surest  proof  that  the  soul  which  can  be  satisfied  in  no  other 
way,  is  entirely  possessed  with  God.  And  this  being  the 
case,  I  think  I  can  say,  that  nothing  but  God  has  possession 
of  my  own  soul ;  nothing  but  God  occupies  it  and  fills  it." 

7.  From  the  place  of  her  imprisonment  she  went  to  the 
house  of  Madame  de  Miramion,  who  received  her  with  a  joy 
increased  by  the  fact  that  God  had  made  her  an  instrument 
in  the  event  which  occasioned  it.  She  there  met  with  an- 
other distinguished  lady,  Madame  de  Mont-chevreuil,  who  also 
expressed  the  highest  satisfaction  and  joy  at  seeing  her  once 
more  free.  She  was  once  more  promptly  received  into  the 
distinguished  families  with  which  she  had  been  associated 
previously  to  her  imprisonment,  and  in  which  she  had 
labored.  She  had  been  restricted  in  her  person,  but  she  had 
not  abandoned  her  principles.  She  had  suffered  from  the 
attacks  of  her  enemies,  without  being  disgraced  in  the  eyes 
of  her  friends ;  and  those  who  had  known  her  and  loved 
her  before  her  imprisonment,  did  not  respect  and  love  her 
the  less  afterwards.  She  was  again  cordially  received  at 
the  houses  of  Beauvilliers  and  Chevreuse.  In  a  short  time 
she  had  an  interview  at  St.  Cyr  with  Madame  Maintenon, 
who  expressed  in  strong  terms  the  pleasure  which  she  felt 
in  seeing  her  at  liberty ;  and  who  thus  commenced  an  ac- 
quaintance which  had  some  important  results. 


OF    MADAME    GUTON.  67 

Among  the  persons  who  were  present  at  this  interview 
were  the  Duchesses  Bethune,  Beauvilliers,  and  Chevreuse, 
and  the  Princess  d'Harcourt ;  a  circumstance  which  it  would 
not  be  important  to  mention,  except  as  indicating  more  dis- 
tinctly the  class  of  society  to  which  she  was  admitted,  and 
some  portion  of  the  field  of  her  religious  influence.  She 
was  introduced  to  Madame  de  Maintenon  by  the  Duchess 
Bethune,  a  lady  who  had  been  personally  known  to  her  from 
childhood,  and  who  was  very  friendly  to  her. 

It  was  not  long  after  this,  that  she  had  an  interview  with 
Monsieur  de  Harlai,  archbishop  of  Paris,  who  had  exhibited 
a  fixed  and  steady  interest  in  the  continuance  of  her  impris- 
onment. In  the  course  of  what  passed  between  them,  the 
archbishop  expressed  a  desire,  as  if  not  altogether  satisfied 
with  his  own  course  of  conduct,  that  she  would  say  as  little 
as  possible  of  what  had  taken  place.  The  opinion  had 
already  begun  to  prevail,  that  interested  motives,  as  well  as 
a  regard  for  the  church,  had  exercised  a  share  of  influence 
with  him.  It  was  his  own  nephew,  the  Marquis  of  Chanva- 
lon,  who  had  been  proposed  as  the  husband  of  Mademoiselle 
Guyon  ;  a  proposition  which  the  mother  had  rejected  at  the 
expense  of  much  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the  archbishop, 
as  well  as  of  a  prolonged  and  more  rigorous  imprisonment. 

8.  As  it  was  not  convenient  for  her  to  re-establish  her 
family  immediately,  she  took  up  her  residence  at  the  house 
of  Madame  de  Miramion,  who  had  already  taken  such  a 
friendly  interest  in  her  affairs.  In  this  family  every  neces- 
sary attention  >seems  to  have  been  shown  her.  And  as  her 
imprisonment  had  neither  broken  her  courage  nor  perplexed 
her  faith,  she  immediately  resumed  her  labors,  wherever 
opportunity  presented  itself,  in  the  cause,  more  dear  to  he1' 
than  any  other,  of  the  restoration  of  souls.  It  is  true,  the 
watchfulness  of  her  opposers  rendered  it  somewhat  difficult 
for  her  to  continue  her  religious  conferences  or  meetings 


68  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

for  prayer  and  religious  conversation ;  but,  too  devoted  and 
persevering  to  be  foiled  by  ordinary  obstacles,  she  neither 
ceased  to  make  efforts,  nor  did  her  efforts  cease  to  be  availing. 

9.  It  was  at  this  period  that  her  labors  assumed  a  more 
limited  and  perhaps  a  more  exclusive  form.  In  the  earlier 
periods  of  her  life,  she  had  labored  to  do  good  in  various 
ways.  But  at  this  time  the  question  of  a  higher  inward  life, 
the  question  of  sanctification,  (perhaps  more  frequently  ex- 
pressed by  the  phrase  pure  love,  that  is  to  say,  love  not 
disinterested  but  unselfish,)  was  agitated  very  widely,  and 
with  great  interest,  among  many  persons.  Can  I  so  live  to 
God  as  to  be  free  from  condemnation  under  all  circum- 
stances ;  —  can  I  love  God  with  all  my  heart,  was  the  prac 
tical  problem  to  which  many  humble  and  inquiring  minds 
addressed  themselves.  It  was  persons  in  this  situation  who 
especially  sought  the  acquaintance  and  assistance  of  Mad- 
ame Guyon.  And  such  cases  had  become  so  much  multi- 
plied, that  she  now  thought  it  her  duty  to  give  to  them  her 
special  and  perhaps  exclusive  attention.  It  is  to  this  state 
of  things  that  she  refers  in  the  following  passage. 

10.  "  What  sufferings,"  such  is  the  import  of  some  re 
marks  which  she  makes,  "  have  I  not  endured  in  laboring 
for  the  souls  of  others !  —  sufferings,  however,  which  have 
never  broken  my  courage,  nor  diminished  my  ardor.  When 
God  was  pleased  to  call  me  to  Christ's  mission,  which  is  a 
mission  of  peace  and  love  to  the  sinful  and  the  wandering, 
he  taught  me  that  I  must  be  willing  to  be,  in  some  sense,  a 
partaker  in  Christ's  sufferings.  For  this  mission,  God,  who 
gives  strength  equal  to  the  trials  of  the  day,  prepared  me  by 
the  crucifixion  of  self . 

"  When  I  first  went  forth,  some  supposed  that  I  was  called 
to  the  work  of  gaining  exterior  proselytes  to  the  church. 
But  it  was  not  so.  I  had  a  higher  calling.  It  was  not 
a  calling  to  build  up  a  party,  but  to  glorify  God  ;  it  was  not  a 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  69 

designation  to  make   Catholics,  but  to  lead  persons,  with 
God's  assistance,  to  a  knowledge  of  Christ. 

iC  And  now  I  think  I  can  say  further,  that  God  does  not 
so  much  design  me,  in  my  labors  hereafter,  for  the  first  con- 
version of  sinners,  as  to  lead  those  who  are  already  begin- 
ners in  the  Christian  life  into  what  may  be  perhaps  called  a 
perfect  conversion." 

11.  Her  meaning  is,  I  suppose,  that  after  the  experience 
which  had  been  given  her,  and  in  view  of  the  multiplied  ap- 
plications which  she  now  had  for  advice  and  instruction  from 
those  who  wished  to  give  themselves  wholly  to  God,  she 
must  labor  chiefly  for  the  sanctification  of  souls.  To  this  as 
a  distinct  work,  she  thought  that  God  called  her  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  a  special  manner ;  not  so  much  to  labor  for  the 
beginnings  of  light,  as  for  its  increase  in  the  soul,  and  its 
purifying  noon-day  effulgence  ;  not  so  much  to  teach  sinners 
the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  through  Christ,  which  was  more 
generally  understood,  and  to  which  many  persons  had  de- 
voted themselves,  as  to  inculcate  the  doctrine,  which  for  the 
most  part  was  considered  as  objectionable  as  it  was  novel, 
of  sanctification  through  Christ.  And  when  we  consider 
that  holy  living  is  not  an  accident,  but  that  the  principles  at 
the  bottom  of  it  may  be  regarded  as  constituting  a  depart- 
ment of  religious  science,  it  is  certainly  proper  that  some 
persons,  who  have  the  requisite  experience  and  information, 
should  particularly  devote  themselves  to  this  form  of  reli- 
gious labor.  It  is  certainly  a  department  of  religious  effort, 
which,  in  its  higher  application,  is  not  entirely  safe  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  are  only  beginners  in  the  process  of  in- 
ward crucifixion. 

12.  She  remained  at  the  house  of  Madame  de  Miramion, 
as  nearly  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  till  the  early  part  of 
the  year  1690.  She  then  left  under  the  following  circum- 
stances.   The  project  of  the  Marquis  of  Chanvalon,  sustained 


70  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

as  it  was  by  the  powerful  influence  of  Monsieur  de  Harlai, 
aided  by  that  of  the  king,  was  given  up.  Providence  had 
opened  the  way  to  other  domestic  arrangements,  much  more 
satisfactory  in  every  respect.  It  was  at  this  time,  that  her 
daughter  was  married  to  Louis  Nicholas  Fouquet,  Count  de 
Vaux.  Her  consent  to  her  daughter's  marriage,  which  under 
other  circumstances  she  refused  at  the  expense  of  a  continu- 
ance of  her  imprisonment,  she  now  readily  gave  in  favor  of 
this  gentleman.  She  had  met  and  formed  an  acquaintance  with 
him,  at  the  residences  of  some  of  her  distinguished  friends ; 
and  such  was  the  favorable  impression  she  received  of  his 
character  and  morals,  that  she  thought  her  daughter  might  be 
safely  entrusted  to  his  hands.  They  were  married  at  the 
house  of  Madame  de  Miramion,  who  sympathized  with 
Madame  Guyon  in  an  event  of  so  much  interest.  This 
event,  however,  naturally  led  to  a  change  of  home.  As  her 
daughter  was  quite  young,  being  scarcely  in  her  fifteenth 
year,  she  thought  she  consulted  her  duty,  as  well  as  her 
personal  happiness,  in  leaving  her  present  residence,  and  in 
going  to  reside  with  her.  The  house  of  her  daughter  was  a 
little  distance  out  of  the  city. 

13.  Of  the  family  and  personal  history  of  the  Count  de 
Vaux  we  know  but  little.  He  was  connected,  however,  with 
the  family  of  the  Duchess  of  Charost,  with  whom  Madame 
Guyon  had  formed  an  acquaintance.  His  father  was  Nicho- 
las Fouquet,  Marquis  of  Belle-Isle  ;  a  man  of  distinguished 
ability,  who  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-eight  held  the  import- 
ant post  of  Superintendent  of  the  Finances  of  France.  Fall- 
ing for  some  reasons,  some  of  them  of  a  public  and  others 
of  a  private  nature,  under  the  displeasure  of  his  monarch 
Louis  Fourteenth,  he  was  arrested,  tried,  and  condemned  to 
perpetual  banishment.  This  punishment  was  afterwards 
exchanged  for  that  of  imprisonment  in  the  citadel  of  Pigne- 
rol.     The  common  statement  is,  that  he  died  in  this  citadel 


OF    MADAME    GUYON  71 

in  1680.  But  Voltaire,  who  has  given  a  few  interesting 
particulars  of  him,  says  that  he  was  assured  by  his  daughter- 
in-law,  the  Countess  de  Vaux,  (the  daughter  of  Madame 
Guy  on  I  suppose,)  that  he  was  released  before  his  death 
from  his  imprisonment,  and  permitted  to  retire  to  an  estate 
belonging  to  his  wife.  Of  his  wife,  who  was  a  woman  of 
piety,  and  of  merit  in  other  respects,  we  have  a  short  notice 
in  Dangeau. 

''Patis,  Dec.  14,  1716. — Madame  Fouquet  died  within 
these  few  days  :  she  was  eighty-four  years  of  age,  and  was 
the  widow  of  the  late  M.  Fouquet,  superintendent  of  the 
finances.  She  had  lived  in  a  very  retired  manner  for 
many  years,  and  was  a  woman  of  great  piety.  The  poor 
are  great  losers  by  her  death." 

14.  Fouquet,  it  seems,  had  resided  for  some  time  at 
Vaux ;  where,  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity,  he  had  large 
possessions,  and  had  built  a  splendid  palace.  It  was  from 
the  place  of  his  father's  residence  and  of  his  possessions, 
I  suppose,  that  the  son,  with  whom  Madame  Guyon  now  re- 
sided, received  his  title  of  Count  de  Vaux.  The  marriage 
of  her  daughter  with  the  Count  naturally  extended  the 
sphere  of  her  acquaintance.  Among  others  she  became  in 
this  way  acquainted  with  Monsieur  Fouquet,  the  uncle  of 
her  son-in-law,  who  subsequently  showed  her  various  acts  of 
kindness,  and  with  whom  she  kept  up  a  correspondence  by 
letter.  The  uncle  was  a  man  not  more  distinguished  by  his 
position  in  society  than  he  was  for  his  ardent  piety.  The 
marriage  of  his  nephew  with  Mademoiselle  Guyon  furnished 
an  opportunity  for  forming  an  acquaintance,  for  which  his 
religious  sentiments  had  already  prepared  him.  Under- 
standing Madame  Guyon's  views  fully,  he  approved  and 
defended  them ;  and  may  be  said  not  only  to  have  lived  in 
them,  but  to  have  died  in  them.  We  shall  have  occasion  to 
refer  to  him  again. 


72  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Of  the  surviving  sons  of  Madame  Guyon,  the  eldest,  Ar- 
mand  Jaques  Guyon,  settled  at  Blois.  The  second  received, 
about  this  time,  an  appointment  as  an  officer  in  the  French 
Guards.  So  that,  independently  of  the  special  reasons  for 
going  with  the  Countess  de  Vaux,  there  was  less  necessity 
than  there  had  formerly  been,  of  her  keeping  up  a  separate 
family  establishment. 

15.  The  following  is  one  of  her  numerous  letters,  which  I 
think  may  properly  be  inserted  here. 


LETTER    TO    ONE    WHO    HAD    THE    CARE    OF    SOULS. 

"  Sir, 

"You  will  bear  with  me  when  I  express  to  you  my 
earnest  desire,  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  render  every 
possible  assistance  to  souls  who  are  seeking  God.  The  great 
thing  to  be  kept  in  view  by  religious  pastors  at  the  present 
time,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  distinction  between  what  may 
be  called  outward  or  ceremonial  religion  on  the  one  hand, 
and  inward  religion  or  that  of  the  heart  on  the  other.  Reli- 
gion, in  its  full  development,  is  the  same  thing  with  the 
inward  kingdom  or  the  reign  of  God  in  the  soul.  And  cer- 
tain it  is,  that  this  inward  or  spiritual  reign  can  never  be 
established  by  outward  ceremonies  and  observances  alone. 

"  It  can  be  nothing  new  to  you,  sir,  when  I  remark,  that  the 
religion  of  the  primitive  disciples  of  Christ  was  characterized 
by  being  inward.  It  was  the  religion  of  the  soul.  The 
Saviour  made  an  announcement  of  unspeakable  importance, 
when  he  said,  —  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  ;  for 
if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you.  He 
seems  to  have  intended  by  this  announcement,  in  part  at 
least,  to  turn  their  attention  from  outward  things,  from  every 
thing  which  was  wholly  exterior,  however  good  it  might  be, 
and   to  prepare  their  hearts  to  receive  the  fulness  of  the 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  73 

Holy  Spirit,  which  he  looked  upon  as  the  one  thing  neces- 
sary. 

u  The  form  is  merely  the  sign  of  the  thing,  I  may,  per- 
haps, give  offence  in  saying  it,  and  am  certainly  liable  to  be 
misunderstood ;  but  still  it  seems  to  me,  that  there  may  even 
be  such  a  thing  as  outivard  praying,  or  praying  in  the  form 
without  the  spirit ;  a  sort  of  praying,  which  does  but  little 
or  no  good.  It  is  true,  the  Saviour  gave  a  form  of  prayer, 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  is  a  very  wonderful  one.  Never- 
theless, he  rebukes  long  and  ostentatious  prayers,  and  dis- 
approves of  frequent  repetitions  in  prayer.  He  tells  the 
disciples,  that  they  are  not  heard  for  their  much  speaking ; 
and  assigns  as  a  reason,  that  their  heavenly  Father  knows 
what  they  want  before  they  ask  him.  He  says,  When  thou 
prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet  and  pray  to  thy  Father  who 
seeth  in  secret,  and  thy  Fatlier  who  seeth  in  secret  shall  re- 
ward thee  openly.  The  object  of  these  directions,  which 
is  not  inconsistent  with  a  suitable  degree  of  external  obser- 
vances, coincides  with  the  object  of  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  namely,  to  establish  religion,  not  in  things  outward, 
but  inward  ;  not  in  the  utterance,  but  in  that  which  utters ; 
not  in  the  form,  but  in  the  spirit. 

i(  Oh,  sir !  how  much  it  is  to  be  desired,  that  all  persons, 
getting  beyond  the  aid  of  mere  outward  supports,  may  have 
their  life  from  God  and  in  God!  Such  a  day  will  certainly 
come  to  pass.  We  see  already  some  evidences  of  its  approach 
in  the  lives  of  those,  who,  in  having  no  will  but  Christ's  will, 
live  by  faith ;  whose  whole  joy  is  in  having  dispositions  that 
are  from  God  and  with  God ;  and  who  regard  all  outward 
things  as  the  mere  transient  signs  and  incidents,  and  not  the 
reality  of  life. 

"  I  repeat,  sir,  without  meaning  to  disparage  outward  acts 
and  observances  when  carried  to  a  scriptural  and  reasonable 
extent,  that  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence  to  train  souls 

VOL.  II.  7 


74  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

for  that  higher  experience,  which,  among  other  expressions 
which  designate  it,  may  be  described  as  the  reign  of  God 
within  them.  Let  them  not  be  diverted  with  a  thousand 
little  objects,  and  thus  be  led  to  stop  short  of  this  great  re- 
sult. Oh  that  pastors  would  labor  to  this  end!  On  the 
contrary,  there  are  some  who  teach  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
draw  aside  some  of  those  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  was  draw- 
ing towards  it. 

"  In  the  sanctified  heart,  every  mountain,  in  the  language 
of  Scripture,  is  brought  low  and  every  valley  is  filled.  *  Ev- 
ery mountain  and  hill  is  brought  low/  by  taking  away  all 
love  of  our  own  greatness  and  excellence ;  a  love  which 
shows  itself  by  an  attachment  to  extraordinary  performances, 
and  to  remarkable  methods  of  action ;  methods  and  perform- 
ances in  which  the  devil  and  nature  rest  satisfied,  and  in 
which  they  are  apt  to  find  th^ir  account.  In  other  words, 
every  thing  within  us,  which  exalts  itself  in  the  pride  and 
love  of  nature,  is  cast  out  or  abased. 

"And  again,  in  the  sanctified  soul,  'every  valley  is  filled/ 
by  being  occupied  with  God  and  with  Jesus  Christ  only.  It 
is  a  great  truth,  that  God  does  not  and  cannot  fill  the  soul 
with  himself,  until  he  first  empties  it  of  every  thing  which  is 
not  himself.  The  mountain,  which  may  be  regarded  as 
another  name  for  the  exaltation  of  nature,  must  first  be 
brought  low,  and  must  be  cast  out.  And  into  this  void  or 
valley,  where  a  man  may  be  said  to  possess  himself  without 
himself,  God  enters  and  fills  it  up.  Truth  takes  the  place 
of  error.  Holy  dispositions  take  the  place  of  unholy  disposi- 
tions ;  and  God,  who  embodies  in  himself  all  truth  and  all 
holiness,  and  who  always  creates  that  immortal  image  which 
bears  his  own  likeness,  can  never  be  absent  where  true  and 
holy  dispositions  exist.  In  such  dispositions,  of  which  he  is 
the  true  light  and  life,  he  not  only  is,  but  he  must  be.  With- 
out God  in  them,  they  cannot  exist.     They  are  God's  home. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  75 

"It  is  with  earnestness,  therefore,  that  I  conjure  you,  sir,  to 
aid  souls  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  in  their  spiritual  pro- 
gress ;  so  that  they  may  not  stop  short  of  God's  inward 
reign.  The  subjection  of  human  selfishness  by  holy  love, 
and  the  subjection  of  the  human  will  by  union  with  the 
divine  will ;  —  it  is  these  which  constitute  a  truly  renovated 
nature,  and  which,  because  they  thus  constitute  the  same 
nature  with  Christ's  nature,  may  be  said  to  make  Christ 
within  us.  Christ,  in  some  future  years,  will  come  visibly, 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  But,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  and  in 
some  respects  in  the  more  important  sense,  he  may  come 
now  ;  he  may  come  to-day.  Oh !  let  us  labor  for  his  pres- 
ent coming ;  not  for  a  Christ  in  the  clouds,  but  for  a  Christ 
in  the  affections ;  not  for  a  Christ  seen,  but  for  a  Christ  felt ; 
not  for  a  Christ  outwardly  represented,  but  for  a  Christ  in- 
wardly realized.  '  Thou  sendest  forth  thy  Spirit,  0  God! 
they  are  created ;  and  thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  earth? 
Ps.  civ.  SO. 

"  On  this  subject  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  express  my  feel- 
ings, so  strong  are  the  desires  which  exist  in  me.  When 
will  men  renounce  themselves,  that  they  may  find  God? 
"Willingly,  full  willingly,  I  would  shed  my  blood,  I  would 
lay  down  my  life,  if  I  could  see  the  world  seeking  and  bear- 
ing Christ's  holy  image. 

"  I  remain  yours  in  our  Lord, 

"  Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon."  * 


*  See  the  work,  entitled,  "  A  Dissertation  on  Pure  Love  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cambray,  with  an  account  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  the 
Lady  for  whose  sake  he  was  banished  from  Court,  together  with  an 
Apologetic  Preface.  Dublin,  1739."  There  are  some  letters  and  frag- 
ments of  letters  in  this  work,  which  I  believe  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
large  collection  of  her  letters  in  French,  published  at  London  in  1767. 
In  this  letter  as  in  some  others,  consulting  the  good  of  the  reader,  as 


76  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

16.  Of  her  half-brother,  who  was  associated  with  her 
opposers  and  enemies,  we  have  had  repeated  occasion  to 
make  mention.  She  had  an  own  brother  also,  Gregory  de 
la  Mothe,  apparently  a  sincere  and  pious  man,  who  had 
much  more  sympathy  with  her.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Carthusians.  It  is  to  this  brother  that  the  following  letter  is 
directed. 


TO  M.  GREGOIRE  BOUVIERES  DE  LA  MOTHE. 

u  My  dear  Brother, 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  you  not  long  since.  It  is 
always  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  that  I  receive  any  tidings 
from  you ;  but  your  last  letter  gave  me  more  satisfaction 
than  any  previous  ones.  You  are  the  only  surviving  mem- 
ber of  our  family,  who  appears  to  understand  the  dealings  of 
God  with  me,  and  to  appreciate  my  situation.  I  receive 
your  letter,  my  dear  brother,  as  a  testimonial  of  Christian 
union  and  sympathy ;  —  a  sympathy  which  I  think  you  could 
not  feel,  if  you  had  not  something  of  the  same  experience. 
This  state  of  mind  can  never  be  easily  and  fully  understood, 
without  a  correspondent  experience  in  the  heart. 

"  The  Lord  has  seen  fit  to  bless  me  much  in  the  labors  for 
a  revival  of  inward  religion,  which  he  has  enabled  me  to  un- 
dertake in  various  places.  This  was  especially  the  case  in 
the  city  of  Grenoble,  where  the  work  was  very  wonderful. 
Oh !  it  is  good  to  give  ourselves  to  the  Lord  in  entire  aban- 
donment ;  —  and  sweet  and  full  is  the  recompense  which  he 
returns  for  all  that  we  sacrifice  to  him,  and  for  all  that  we 
undergo  in  making  the  sacrifice. 


well  as  what  is  due  to  Madame  Guyon,  I  have  given  the  sentiment 
rather  than  the  precise  expression  ;  and,  in  order  to  do  this,  have  heen 
obliged  to  re-adjust,  in  some  respects,  the  order  of  the  parts. 


OF    MADAME    GUTON.  77 

"  I  speak  to  you,  my  dear  brother,  without  reserve  ;  and, 
supposing  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  learn  something  of  my 
spiritual  condition  at  the  present  time,  I  will  freely  state  it 
to  you.  And,  in  the  first  place,  my  soul,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
is  united  to  God  in  such  a  manner  that  my  own  will  is  en- 
tirely lost  in  the  divine  will.  Indeed,  without  the  entire  loss 
of  my  own  will,  this  blessed  union  could  not  exist.  And 
when  I  speak  of  the  will  of  God,  I  mean  not  merely  his 
known  will,  but  his  unknown  will ;  not  only  what  he  has 
declared,  but  whatever  there  is  as  yet  undeclared,  which 
remains  hidden  and  eternal  in  his  own  counsels.  Of  that 
wonderful  and  essential  will,  which  is  only  another  name 
for  God  himself,  because  his  will,  without  being  the  whole  of 
himself,  necessarily  embraces  and  includes  himself,  every 
moment,  as  it  comes,  is  the  true  and  unalterable  expression. 
I  live,  therefore,  as  well  as  I  can  express  it,  out  of  myself 
and  out  of  all  other  creatures,  in  union  with  God  because  I 
am  in  union  with  his  will ;  that  will,  which,  though  it  is 
essential  and  co-eternal  with  himself,  is  revealed  and  brought 
out  of  himself,  and  made  in  contact  and  in  harmony  with 
holy  minds  moment  by  moment.  It  is  thus,  that  God,  by  his 
sanctifying  grace,  has  become  to  me  All  in  all.  The 
self  which  once  troubled  me,  is  taken  away ;  and  I  find  it 
no  more.  And  thus  God,  being  made  known  in  things  or 
events,  which  is  the  only  way  in  which  the  I  Am,  or  Infinite 
Existence,  can  be  made  known,  every  thing  becomes,  in  a 
certain  sense,  God  to  me.  I  find  God  in  every  thing  which 
is,  and  in  every  thing  which  comes  to  pass.  The  creature 
is  nothing;  (I  speak  now  of  myself ;)  God  is  All. 

"  And  if  you  ask  why  it  is,  that  the  Lord  has  seen  fit  to 
bless  me  in  my  labors,  it  is  because  he  has  first,  by  taking 
away  my  own  will,  made  me  a  nothing.  The  instrumental- 
ity which  recognizes  God  as  the  sole  source  of  its  own 
strength,  and  regards  itself  only  as  an  instrument,  is  the 

vol.  tt.  7* 


78  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

instrumentality  which  God  blesses.  It  is  thus  that  he  has 
seen  fit  to  make  use  of  a  poor,  weak  woman,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  his  own  mighty  hands,  in  bringing  multitudes  of 
different  ages  and  conditions,  priests  as  well  as  others,  to  a 
knowledge  of  himself.  His  own  good  Spirit,  in  the  results 
which  have  been  wrought  in  them,  has  put  the  seal  to  that 
which  he  has  enabled  me  to  say.  And  in  recognizing  the 
hand  of  the  Lord,  I  think  I  may  well  speak  of  God's  agency 
physically,  as  well  as  mentally ;  since  he  has  sustained  me 
in  my  poor  state  of  health  and  in  my  physical  weakness. 
Weak  as  I  have  been,  he  has  enabled  me  to  talk  in  the  day, 
and  to  write  in  the  night. 

"  After  the  labors  of  the  day,  I  have,  for  some  time  past, 
spent  a  portion  of  the  night  in  writing  remarks  or  commen- 
taries on  the  Scriptures,  not  critical  but  practical  and  spir- 
itual. I  began  this  work  at  Grenoble ;  and  though  my 
labors  were  many  and  my  health  was  poor,  the  Lord  ena- 
bled me,  in  the  course  of  six  months,  to  write  such  remarks, 
more  or  less  extended,  on  all  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

"  In  this  work  so  far,  God  has  been  pleased  to  give  me  very 
special  assistance  ;  so  that  the  train  of  thought,  suggested  by 
particular  passages,  has  not  been  broken  and  confused,  when 
my  plans  have  been  temporarily  interrupted ;  but  I  have 
continued  it  afterwards,  as  if  no  interruptions  had  occurred. 
My  mind  has  acted  so  freely  and  easily,  that  it  seemed  as  if 
I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  move  my  hand  in  the  copying 
down  of  my  thoughts.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  have  written 
some  things  which  will  appear  imperfect  or  erroneous  in  the 
view  of  others ;  some  things  perhaps  which  may  seem  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  and  which  may 
expose  me  to  ecclesiastical  condemnation  ;  but  as  it  seemed 
to  me,  that  I  acted  in  accordance  with  God's  will  and  with 
the  light  which  his  Spirit  gave  me,  I  am  obliged  to  leave 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  79 

what  I  have  done  as  it  is,  whatever  may  be  the  conse- 
quence. 

"  I  am  willing,  in  this  as  in  other  things,  to  commit  all  to 
God,  both  in  doing  and  suffering.  To  my  mind  it  is  the 
height  of  blessedness  to  cease  from  our  own  action,  in  order 
that  God  may  act  in  us.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  to  inculcate 
inactivity,  or  to  say  any  thing  which  would  seem  to  author- 
ize it.  What  I  mean  is,  that  we  should  not  move  in  our 
own  wisdom,  but  in  the  light  of  God,  as  it  shines  from 
within  in  a  sanctified  judgment,  and  as  it  is  increased  from 
without  by  his  divine  Providence.  The  great  principle  of 
practical  sanctification  is  this  ;  —  to  desire  nothing  but  what 
we  now  have,  sin  only  excepted.  God  is  in  every  thing  but 
sin,  and  is  therefore  to  be  accepted  in  every  thing,  because 
sin  is  none  of  his  ;  and  when  we  thus  have  God,  by  accepting 
him  in  all  his  manifestations  and  doings,  we  necessarily  have 
every  thing.  He,  therefore,  who  is  in  that  high  state  of  sub- 
mission and  faith,  that  he  has  no  desire,  no  inclination,  no 
wish  for  any  thing  but  what  he  now  has,  both  inwardly  and 
outwardly,  and  who,  in  being  thus,  possesses  God  himself, 
because  he  is  perfectly  in  God's  will,  is  of  all  men  the  most 
happy. 

"  And  this  statement,  my  dear  brother,  expresses  my  own 
condition,  as  it  is  my  prayer  that  it  may  express  yours. 

"  In  such  a  state,  riches  and  poverty,  and  sorrow  and  joy, 
and  life  and  death,  are  the  same.  In  such  a  state  is  the 
true  heavenly  rest,  the  true  Paradise  of  the  spirit. 

"  In  the  hope  and  prayer  that  we  may  always  be  thus  in 
the  Lord,  I  remain,  in  love,  your  sister, 

"  Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon. 

"Dec.  12,  1689."* 

*  See  (Euvres  Completes  de  Bossuet,  Eveque  de  Meaux,  tome  xii. ; 
h  Paris,  1836;  p.  8. 


80  LIFE,  ETC. 

GOD  THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  LOVE  TO  HIS  CHILDKEN. 

[From  her  Poems,  Churchill's  Edition.] 

I  love  my  God,  but  with  no  love  of  mine, 

For  I  have  none  to  give ; 
I  love  thee,  Lord ;  but  all  the  love  is  thine, 

For  by  thy  life  I  live. 
I  am  as  nothing,  and  rejoice  to  be 
Emptied,  and  lost,  and  swallowed  up  in  Thee. 

Thou,  Lord,  alone,  art  all  thy  children  need, 

And  there  is  none  beside ; 
From  thee  the  streams  of  blessedness  proceed; 

In  thee  the  bless'd  abide. 
Fountain  of  life,  and  all-abounding  grace, 
Our  source,  our  centre,  and  our  dwelling  place 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Fenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray.  His  character.  His  early  de 
signs.  Interesting  letter.  Sent  by  Louis  Fourteenth  as  a  mis- 
sionary to  Poitou.  Learns  something  of  the  character  and  reli- 
gious labors  of  Madame  Guy  on.  On  his  return  from  Poitou,  in 
1688,  he  passes  through  Montargis,  and  makes  some  inquiries  in 
relation  to  her.  Meets  her  for  the  first  time  at  the  country  resi- 
dence of  the  Duchess  of  Charost,  at  Beine.  They  return  to  Paris 
together.    Letters  which  passed  between  them. 

It  is  at  this  period  of  the  life  of  Madame  Guyon,  that  her 
history  becomes  interwoven  with  that  of  Fenelon,  archbishop 
of  Cambray,  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Of  the  character  of 
this  distinguished  man,  whose  personal  history  is  so  generally 
known,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak.  The  remarks,  how- 
ever, of  the  Chancellor  D  Aguesseau  on  Fenelon,  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  his  Father,  seem 
to  me  to  be  so  striking  as  well  as  just,  that  I  am  tempted  to 
quote  them  here. 

2.  "  Fenelon,"  says  the  Chancellor,  "  was  one  of  those 
uncommon  men  who  are  destined  to  give  lustre  to  their  age ; 
and  who  do  equal  honor  to  human  nature  by  their  virtues, 
and  to  literature  by  their  superior  talents.  He  was  affable 
in  his  deportment,  and  luminous  in  his  discourse  ;  the  pecu- 
liar qualities  of  which  wrere  a  rich,  delicate,  and  powerful 
imagination  ;  but  which  never  let  its  power  be  felt.  His 
eloquence  had  more  of  mildness  in  it  than  of  vehemence ; 
and  he  triumphed  as  much  by  the  charms  of  his  conversa- 
tion, as  by  the  superiority  of  his  talents.    He  always  brought 


82  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

himself  to  the  level  of  his  company ;  he  never  entered  into 
disputation ;  and  he  sometimes  appeared  to  yield  to  others 
at  the  very  time  that  he  was  leading  them.  Grace  dwelt 
upon  his  lips.  He  discussed  the  greatest  subjects  with  facil- 
ity ;  the  most  trifling  were  ennobled  by  his  pen  ;  and  upon 
the  most  barren  he  scattered  the  flowers  of  rhetoric.  The 
peculiar,  but  unaffected  mode  of  expression  which  he  adopt- 
ed, made  many  persons  believe  that  he  possessed  universal 
knowledge,  as  if  by  inspiration.  It  might,  indeed,  have  been 
almost  said,  that  he  rather  invented  what  he  knew  than 
learned  it.  He  was  always  original  and  creative  ;  imitating 
no  one,  and  himself  inimitable.  A  noble  singularity  per- 
vaded his  whole  person  ;  and  a  certain  undetinable  and  sub- 
lime simplicity  gave  to  his  appearance  the  air  of  a  prophet." 
3.  The  account  which  is  given  of  him  by  his  contempora- 
ry, the  Duke  de  St.  Simon,  is  also  striking.  "  Fenelon," 
says  St.  Simon,  "  was  a  tall  man,  thin,  well  made,  and  with 
a  large  nose.  From  his  eyes  issued  the  fire  and  animation 
of  his  mind  like  a  torrent ;  and  his  countenance  was  such 
that  I  never  yet  beheld  any  one  similar  to  it,  nor  could  it 
ever  be  forgotten  if  once  seen.  It  combined  every  thing, 
and  yet  with  every  thing  in  harmony  ;  it  was  grave,  and  yet 
alluring ;  it  was  solemn,  and  yet  gay ;  it  bespoke  equally  the 
theologian,  the  bishop,  and  the  nobleman.  Every  thing 
which  was  visible  in  it,  as  well  as  in  his  whole  person,  was 
delicate,  intellectual,  graceful,  becoming,  and,  above  all,  noble. 
It  required  an  effort;  to  cease  looking  at  him.  All  the  por- 
traits are  strong  resemblances,  though  they  have  not  caught 
that  harmony  which  was  so  striking  in  the  original,  and  that 
individual  delicacy  which  characterized  each  feature.  His 
manners  were  answerable  to  his  countenance.  They  had 
that  air  of  ease  and  urbanity,  which  can  be  derived  only 
from  intercourse  with  the  best  society,  and  which  diffused 
itself  over  all  his  discourse." 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  83 

4.  Fenelon,  who  added  ardent  piety  to  the  highest  order 
of  talents,  and  to  the  graces  of  expression  and  manner  which 
so  arrested  the  attention  of  the  historians  and  biographers 
of  his  times,  had  formed  the  purpose,  under  the  inspiration 
of  that  great  Power  who  is  the  life  of  all  holy  purposes,  to 
live  and  act  solely  for  what  he  deemed  the  cause  of  God. 
His  first  plan  was  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  Canada,  in  North 
America,  at  that  time  a  province  of  France;  and  which 
could  not  possibly  furnish  any  attractions  to  a  person  of  his 
turn  of  mind,  separate  from  what  are  found  in  religion.  In 
the  simplicity  and  love  of  his  heart,  he  was  willing  to  spend 
the  splendid  powers  which  God  had  given  him,  in  instruct- 
ing a  few  ignorant  savages  in  the  way  of  life. 

Disappointed  in  this,  he  next  turned  his  attention  to 
Greece ;  and  he  indulged  the  hope,  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  preach  the  gospel  in  a  land  which  could  not  fail  to 
be  endeared  to  him  by  many  classical  and  historical  recol- 
lections. There  is  a  letter  extant,  written  at  this  time,  which 
would  be  interesting  if  in  no  other  light  than  as  a  memorial 
of  the  youthful  Fenelon,  in  which  the  warmth  of  his  heart 
blends  with  the  vividness  of  his  imagination.  It  is  dated  at 
Sarlat,  and  was  probably  addressed  to  Bossuet.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  part  of  it. 

5.  "  Several  trifling  events  have  hitherto  prevented  my 
return  to  Paris ;  but  I  shall  at  length  set  out,  sir,  and  I  shall 
almost  fly  thither.  But,  compared  with  this  journey,  I  medi- 
tate a  much  greater  one.  The  whole  of  Greece  opens  be- 
fore me,  and  the  Sultan  flies  in  terror  ;  —  the  Peloponnesus 
breathes  again  in  liberty,  and  the  church  of  Corinth  shall 
flourish  once  more;  —  the  voice  of  the  apostle  shall  be  heard 
there  again.  I  seem  to  be  transported  among  those  enchant- 
ing places  and  those  inestimable  ruins,  where,  while  I  collect 
the  most  curious  relics  of  antiquity,  I  imbibe  also  its  spirit. 
I  seek  for  the  Areopagus,  where  St.  Paul  declared  to  the 


84  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

sages  of  the  world  the  unknown  God.  I  kneel  down,  O 
happy  Patmos  !  upon  thy  earth,  and  kiss  the  steps  of  the 
apostle ;  and  I  shall  almost  believe  that  the  heavens  are 
opening  on  my  sight.  Once  more,  after  a  night  of  such  long 
darkness,  the  day  spring  dawns  in.  Asia.  I  behold  the  land 
which  has  been  sanctified  by  the  steps  of  Jesus,  and  crim- 
soned with  his  blood.  I  see  it  delivered  from  its  profane- 
ness,  and  clothed  anew  in  glory.  The  children  of  Abraham 
are  once  more  assembling  together  from  the  four  quarters 
of  the  earth,  over  which  they  have  been  scattered,  to  ac- 
knowledge Christ  whom  they  pierced,  and  to  show  forth  the 
Lord's  resurrection  to  the  end  of  time." 

In  this  plan  also  he  was  disappointed.  It  was  not  the 
design  of  Providence  to  employ  him  either  in  Greece  or 
America.     There  was  work  for  him  in  France. 

6.  It  was  a  part  of  the  system  of  Louis  Fourteenth  to 
establish  throughout  his  dominions  an  uniformity  of  religion  ; 
and  he  had  the  sagacity  to  see,  that,  in  carrying  out  this  diffi- 
cult plan,  he  needed  the  aid  of  distinguished  men.  As  a 
preliminary  step  to  his  ultimate  purposes,  Louis  had  re- 
voked the  edict  of  Nantes.  This  edict,  promulgated  in  1598 
by  Henry  Fourth,  embodied  principles  of  toleration,  which 
furnished  for  many  years  a  considerable  degree  of  protection 
to  the  French  Protestants.  Intoxicated  with  power,  and 
ignorant  of  that  sacred  regard  which  man  owes  to  the  reli- 
gious rights  and  principles  of  his  fellow-man,  he  had  com- 
menced, previously  to  its  revocation,  a  series  of  hostile  acts, 
entirely  inconsistent  with  the  terms  and  principles  of  the 
edict  of  Henry.  The  sword  was  drawn  in  aid  of  the  church ; 
blood  had  already  been  shed  m  some  places ;  and  it  is  stated, 
that,  soon  after  the  revocation  of  the  protecting  edict,  no  less 
than  fifty  thousand  families,  holding  their  religion  more  pre- 
cious to  them  than  worldly  prosperity,  left  France.* 

*  Bausset's  Life  of  Fenelon,  vol.  i.  p.  18. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  85 

7.  So  desirous  was  the  French  monarch  of  making  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  the  exclusive  religion  of  his  king- 
dom, that  he  united  together  different  and  discordant  systems 
of  proselytism,  and  added  the  milder  methods  of  persuasion 
to  the  argument  of  the  sword.  There  were  men  among  the 
Protestants  who  could  never  be  terrified,  but  might  possibly 
be  convinced.  And  knowing  the  tenacity  of  their  opinions, 
if  not  the  actual  strength  of  their  theological  position,  he  was 
desirous  of  sending  religious  teachers  among  them,  who  were 
distinguished  for  their  ability,  mildness,  and  prudence.  It 
was  under  these  circumstances  and  with  these  views,  that  he 
cast  his  eye  upon  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon. 

8.  The  young  Abbe"  waited  upon  the  king.  He  received 
from  the  monarch's  lips  the  commission  which  indicated  the 
field  and  the  nature  of  his  labors.  The  labor  assigned  him 
was  the  difficult  one  of  showing  to  the  Protestants,  whose 
property  had  been  pillaged,  whose  families  had  been  scat- 
tered, and  whose  blood  had  been  shed  like  water,  the  truth 
and  excellencies  of  the  religion  of  their  persecutors.  Fene- 
lon, who  understood  the  imperious  disposition  of  Louis,  and 
at  the  same  time  felt  an  instinctive  aversion  to  the  violent 
course  he  was  pursuing,  saw  the  difficulty  of  his  position. 
He  consented,  however,  to  undertake  this  trying  and  almost 
hopeless  embassy  on  one  condition  only ;  a  condition  which 
shows  the  benevolence  of  his  character  and  the  soundness 
of  his  judgment  at  this  early  period  of  his  life  ;  —  namely, 
that  the  armed  force  should  he  removed  from  the  'province  to 
which  he  should  be  sent  as  a  missionary,  and  that  military 
coercion  should  cease. 

9.  It  was  in  the  distant  province  of  Poitou,  which  Louis 
had  assigned  him  as  the  field  of  his  missionary  labors,  that 
Fenelon  first  heard  of  Madame  Guyon.  By  means  which  are 
now  not  known  to  us,  he  became  acquainted  with  the  remark- 
able story  of  her  missionary  labors,  of  her  writings  on  reli- 

vol.  tt.  8 


86  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

gion  and  religious  experience,  and  of  the  high  and  some- 
what peculiar  character  of  her  piety.  Nor  did  it  escape  his 
notice,  that,  even  in  this  remote  province,  her  enemies  had 
scattered  abroad  their  misrepresentations.  His  desire  to 
know  something  more  of  a  woman,  whose  great  mental 
power  and  laborious  piety  had  made  her  one  of  the  religious 
reformers  of  her  age,  had  not  ceased,  when,  after  nearly  a 
three  years'  residence,  he  had  completed  the  labors  of  his 
mission  in  Poitou  ;  a  mission  in  which  he  eminently  secured 
the  respect  and  affection  of  those  from  whom  he  differed  in 
opinion. 

On  his  return,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1688,  he 
passed  through  the  city  of  Montargis,  which  was  the  early 
scene  of  Madame  Guyon's  life.  Thinking  it  proper  to  learn 
all  that  he  conveniently  could  of  her  character,  before  he 
formed  that  more  intimate  acquaintance  which  he  evidently 
designed  to  establish  after  his  return  to  Paris,  he  made  at 
Montargis  all  those  inquiries  which  seemed  to  be  necessary. 
"  Questioning  several  persons  respecting  her,"  says  M.  de 
Bausset,  "  persons  who  had  witnessed  her  conduct  during 
her  early  years,  and  while  she  was  married,  he  was  inter- 
ested by  the  unanimous  testimonies  which  he  heard  of  her 
piety  and  goodness." 

10.  When  he  arrived  at  Paris,  he  learned  more  distinctly 
the  facts,  which  had  reached  him  in  the  distant  field  of  his 
missionary  labors.  He  learned  also,  that  the  woman,  whom 
something  in  his  heart  told  him  that  he  ought  not  only  to 
see,  but  to  learn  from  her  own  lips  the  principles  on  which 
she  had  made  so  great  religious  progress,  was  in  disgrace 
with  the  monarch,  who  had  placed  him  in  the  important 
mission  of  Poitou,  and  who  contemplated  placing  him  in  still 
more  responsible  situations.  It  is  true,  that,  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  Madame  de  Maintenon,  he  had  released  her  from 
prison  ;  but  he  neither  then,  nor  ever  afterwards,  expressed 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  87 

any  thing  but  distrust  of  her  opinions,  and  either  indifference 
or  aversion  to  her  person.  Had  Fenelon,  knowing  as  he  did 
the  jealous  and  imperious  tendencies  of  the  mind  of  Louis, 
consulted  merely  worldly  interest,  he  would  have  avoided 
her.  But,  following  the  suggestions  of  his  own  benevolent 
heart,  and  of  that  silent  voice  which  God  utters  in  the  souls 
of  those  who  love  him,  he  did  otherwise. 

11.  Fenelon  met  Madame  Guyon,  for  the  first  time,  at 
the  house  of  the  Duchess  of  Charost.  At  the  country  resi- 
dence of  this  lady,  who  had  a  retired  establishment  at  the 
village  of  Beine,  situated  a  few  miles  beyond  Versailles,  in 
the  direction  of  and  beyond  St.  Cyr,  Madame  Guyon  made 
frequent  visits.  She  had  long  been  acquainted  with  the 
duchess.  It  was  a  nephew  of  this  lady,  to  whom  Mademoi- 
selle Guyon  was  afterwards  married. 

It  would  somewhat  save  appearances,  therefore,  if  Fenelon 
could  meet  her  here.  And,  accordingly,  their  meeting  at 
this  place  seems  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  private  arrange- 
ment, which  was  brought  about  by  the  aid  of  their  common 
friends.  They  were  already  mutually  acquainted  by  repu- 
tation ;  and  it  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  it  was  mu- 
tually pleasing  to  them  to  form  a  personal  acquaintance. 
But  it  is  very  clear,  I  think,  that  the  leading  motive  was 
a  purely  religious  one.  They  conversed  together  at  much 
length,  not  on  worldly  subjects,  for  that  was  foreign  to 
their  feelings  ;  not  on  the  external  arrangements  and  progress 
of  the  church,  for  that  was  a  subject  which  had  been  familiar 
to  them  from  childhood ;  but  on  a  subject  vastly  more  important 
than  either,  that  of  inward  religion.  The  immense  import- 
ance of  the  subject,  the  correspondence  between  the  doctrines 
of  a  transforming  and  sanctifying  spirituality  and  the  deeply 
felt  needs  of  his  own  soul,  the  presence  and  fervid  eloquence 
of  a  woman,  whose  rank,  beauty,  and  afflictions  could  not 
fail   to  excite   an    interest    exceeded   onlv  bv  that  of   her 


88  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

evangelical  simplicity  and  sanctity,  made  a  deep  impression 
on  the  mind  of  Fenelon,  which  remained  with  him  ever  after. 

After  spending  a  part  of  the  day  in  this  manner,  they  both 
returned  to  Paris  in  the  same  carriage,  accompanied  only  by 
a  young  female  attendant,  whom  Madame  Guyon  kept  with 
her ;  which  gave  them  still  farther  opportunity  to  prosecute 
this  interesting  conversation,  and  to  explain  more  particu- 
larly her  views  of  religious  experience  and  growth.  This 
was  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1688  ;  at  which  time  she 
resided  at  the  house  of  Madame  de  Miramion.  "  From  that 
time,"  says  the  author  from  whom  I  derive  these  statements, 
"  they  were  intimate  friends."  * 

12.  If  it  was  this  interview  to  which  Madame  Guyon 
refers  in  her  Autobiography,  it  would  seem,  that  they  saw 
each  other  the  next  day.  This  second  interview  took  place, 
as  I  suppose,  at  the  house  of  a  mutual  friend,  the  Duchess 
of  Bethune.  "  Some  days  after  my  release  from  prison," 
she  says,  "  having  heard  of  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon,  my  mind 
was  taken  up  with  him  with  much  force  and  sweetness.  It 
seemed  to  me,  that  the  Lord  would  make  me  an  instrument 
of  spiritual  good  to  him ;  and  that,  in  the  experience  of  a 
common  spiritual  advancement,  he  would  unite  us  together 
in  a  very  intimate  manner.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
him  the  next  day.  [This  was  her  first  interview  at  the 
house  of  the  Duchess  of  Charost.]  I  inwardly  felt,  however, 
that  this  interview,  without  failing  to  increase  his  interest  in 
the  subject  of  the  Interior  Life,  did  not  fully  satisfy  him. 
And  I,  on  my  part,  experienced  something  which  made  me 
desire  to  pour  out  my  heart  more  fully  into  his.     But  there 


*  "  Relation  de  l'Origine,  du  Progres.  et  de  la  Condemnation  du  Quiet- 
isme  repandn.  en  France,  avec  plusieurs  Anecdotes  cnrieuses,"  —  a  work 
ascribed  to  Monsieur  Phelipeaux,  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  a  par- 
ticular friend  of  Bossuet. 


OF    MADAME    GUTON.  89 

was  not  as  yet  an  entire  correspondence  in  our  views  and 
experience,  which  made  me  suffer  much  on  his  account. 

13.  "  It  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  next  day  that  I  saw  him 
again,  [at  the  house  of  the  Duchess  of  Bethune.]  My  soul 
desired  that  he  might  be  all  that  the  Lord  would  have  him 
to  be.  "We  remained  together  for  some  time  in  silent  prayer; 
and  not  without  a  spiritual  blessing.  The  obscurity  which 
had  hitherto  rested  upon  his  spiritual  views  and  exercises 
began  to  disappear ;  but  still  he  was  not  yet  such  as  I  de- 
sired him  to  be.  During  eight  whole  days  he  rested  as  a 
burden  on  my  spirit.  During  that  time  my  soul  suffered  and 
wrestled  for  him  ;  and  then,  the  agony  of  my  spirit  passing 
away,  I  found  inward  rest.  Since  that  time,  looking  upon 
him  as  one  wholly  given  to  the  Lord,  I  have  felt  myself 
united  to  him  without  any  obstacle.  And  our  union  of  spirit 
with  each  other  has  increased  ever  since,  after  a  manner 
pure  and  ineffable.  My  soul  has  seemed  to  be  united  to 
his  in  the  bond  of  divine  love,  as  was  that  of  Jonathan  to 
David.  The  Lord  has  given  me  a  view  of  the  great  designs 
he  has  upon  this  person,  and  how  dear  he  is  to  him." 

14.  During  the  interviews  between  Madame  Guyon  and 
Fenelon  which  have  been  mentioned,  some  reference  seems 
to  have  been  made  to  her  writings.  The  Short  Method  of 
Prayer,  and  the  work  entitled  the  Torrents,  had  already 
been  published.  She  had  other  writings  in  manuscript,  and 
was  desirous  that  Fenelon  should  see  them.  This  explains, 
in  part,  what  is  said  in  the  following  letter,  which  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  that  passed  between  them. 

"Parts,  November,  1688. 
"  To  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon. 

"  I  take  the  liberty  to  send  you  some  of  my  writings. 
It  is  my  desire  that  you  should  act  the  part  of  a  censor  in 
regard  to  them.     Mark  with  your  disapproval  every  thing 
vol.  it.  8  * 


90  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

in  them,  which  comes  from  the  imperfections  of  the  creature 
rather  than  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  I  have  other  writings, 
which,  if  I  did  not  fear  to  fatigue  you,  it  would  please  me 
much  to  bring  under  your  notice,  to  be  preserved  or  to  be 
destroyed  as  you  might  think  them  worthy  of  preservation 
or  otherwise.  If  I  should  learn  that  you  do  not  consider 
those  which  are  now  sent  as  unworthy  of  your  attention,  I 
may  send  the  others  at  some  future  time.  As  I  send  them 
in  the  spirit  of  submission  to  your  theological  and  critical 
judgment,  and  with  entire  sincerity,  I  count  upon  it  that 
you  will  spare  nothing  which  ought  not  to  be  spared. 
When  you  shall  have  read  the  sheets  which  I  have  sent 
to  you,  you  will  do  me  a  favor  by  returning  them  with  your 
corrections. 

"  Permit  me  to  expect  that  you  will  deal  with  me  with- 
out ceremony.  Have  no  regard  to  me,  separate  from  what 
is  due  to  truth  and  to  God's  glory.  God  has  given  me  great 
confidence  in  you ;  but  he  does  not  allow  me  to  cause  you 
trouble.  And  you  will  tell  me  frankly  when  I  do  so.  I  am 
ready  to  keep  up  some  correspondence  with  you.  If  God 
inspires  you  with  different  views,  let  me  know  without  hesi- 
tation. I  readily  submit  myself  to  you.  I  have  already 
followed  your  advice  in  the  matter  of  confession. 

"  And  now  I  will  turn  to  another  subject.  For  seven 
days  past,  I  have  been  in  a  state  of  continual  prayer  for  you. 
I  call  it  prayer,  although  the  state  of  mind  has  been  some- 
what peculiar.  I  have  desired  nothing  in  particular ;  have 
asked  nothing  in  particular.  But  my  soul,  presenting  con- 
tinually its  object  before  God,  that  God's  will  might  be 
accomplished  and  God's  glory  might  be  manifested  in  it,  has 
been  like  a  lamp  that  burns  without  ceasing.  Such  was  the 
prayer  of  Jesus  Christ.  Such  is  the  prayer  of  the  Seven 
Spirits  who  stand  before  God's  throne,  and  who  are  well 
compared  to  seven  lamps  that  burn  night  and  day.    It  seems 


OF   MADAME    GUTON.  91 

to  me,  that  the  designs  of  mercy,  which  God  has  upon  you, 
are  not  yet  accomplished.  Your  soul  is  not  yet  brought 
into  full  harmony  with  God,  and  therefore  I  suffer.  My 
suffering  is  great.     My  prayer  is  not  yet  heard. 

.  "  The  prayer  which  I  offer  for  you  is  not  the  work  of  the 
creature.  It  is  not  a  prayer  self-made,  formal,  and  outward. 
It  is  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost  uttering  itself  in  the  soul, 
an  inward  burden  which  man  cannot  prevent  nor  control. 
The  Holy  Ghost  prays  with  effect.  When  this  inward  voice 
ceases,  it  is  a  sign,  that  the  grace  which  has  been  suppli- 
cated is  sent  down.  I  have  been  in  this  state  of  mind  be- 
fore for  other  souls,  but  never  with  such  struggle  of  spirit, 
and  never  for  so  long  a  time.  God's  designs  will  be  accom- 
plished upon  you.  I  speak  with  confidence  ;  but  I  think  it 
cannot  be  otherwise.  You  may  delay  the  result  by  resist- 
ance ;  but  you  cannot  hinder  it.  Opposition  to  God,  who 
comes  to  reclaim  the  full  dominion  of  the  heart,  can  have 
no  other  effect  than  to  increase  and  prolong  the  inward  suf- 
fering. Pardon  the  Christian  plainness  with  which  I  ex- 
press myself.  u  j  M  R  DE  LA  MoTHE  Guyon." 

15.  Some  of  the  letters  which  passed  between  them,  perhaps 
for  particular  reasons,  are  without  either  direction  or  signa- 
ture. This  is  sometimes  the  case  with  other  letters.  Mad- 
ame Guyon  was  so  situated,  that  a  degree  of  care,  and  even 
of  concealment,  in  her  intercourse  with  others,  was  some- 
times necessary.  We  have  thought  it  proper,  in  a  few 
instances,  to  supply  such  omissions  as  are  now  referred  to, 
when  the  manner  of  doing  it  was  very  obvious,  either  from 
the  letter  or  in  some  other  way. 

16.  There  are  some  expressions. in  this  letter,  and  others 
similar  in  other  places,  which  it  may  be  proper  to  explain. 
Directed  by  that  inward  light  which  is  appropriate  to  the 
holy  mind,  she  had  offered   up  her  prayers  for  Fenelon, 


92  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

during  seven  clays  in  succession,  with  that  suffering  and 
struggle  of  spirit  with  which  she  had  prayed  for  others,  and 
perhaps  still  more  earnestly.  But  the  expressions  which 
she  uses  in  relation  to  these  mental  exercises  are  worthy  of 
notice.     She  presented  him  before  God. 

And  this  leads  me  to  say,  in  explanation  of  these  and 
other  expressions  which  she  employs,  that  the  prayer  of  the 
truly  subdued  and  sanctified  soul  may  be  regarded  as  in 
some  respects  different  from  that  of  others.  It  is  not  always 
distinctly  petitionary  in  form ;  still  less  is  it  what  may  be 
termed  argumentative.  In  other  words,  it  does  not,  as  it 
were,  assail  God  with  a  multitude  of  consecutive  reasons, 
as  if  he  were  ignorant  of  the  case,  or  were  hard  to  be  per- 
suaded; but,  in  the  exercise  of  a  faith  which  can  never 
distrust  either  God's  wisdom  or  goodness,  it  simply  presents 
the  object  before  him,  that  he  may  be  glorified  in  it ;  accom- 
panied, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  with  a  burden  or  moan- 
ing of  the  spirit,  which  is  sometimes  very  intense.  This 
inward  sorrow  of  spirit,  of  which  God  himself  is  the  author, 
involving  as  it  does  a  strong  desire  for  the  good  of  the  object 
which  occasions  it,  always  purified  and  ennobled  also  by  a 
deep  and  entire  submission,  is  a  prayer  which  is  peculiarly 
acceptable  and  efficacious  with  God.  It  is  the  kind  of 
prayer,  as  it  seems  to  me,  which  is  described  in  the  eighth 
chapter  of  Romans,  twenty-sixth  verse.  "  Likewise  the 
Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities ;  for  we  know  not  what 
we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought ;  but  the  Spirit  itself  maketh 
intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered." 

17.  It  was  thus  that  a  correspondence  commenced,  which 
continued  a  number  of  years.  They  had  opportunities  of 
seeing  each  other  both  at  Paris  and  Versailles.  But  still  it 
was  not  convenient,  and  perhaps  was  not  proper,  that  they 
should  see  each  other  very  often.  But  the  deep  interest  felt 
by  Madame  Guyon  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  many  questions 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  93 

which  Fenelon  found  it  necessary  to  propose  to  her  Jbigher 
experience  on  the  other,  rendered  it  necessary  that  they 
should  correspond  with  each  other.  The  very  next  day  she 
wrote  another  letter  as  follows  :  — 


"Paris,  November,  1688. 
"  To  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon. 

"  I  did  myself  the  pleasure  to  write  to  you  yesterday  morn- 
ing. I  mentioned  the  interest  which  my  soul  felt  for  yours. 
That  interest  still  continues.  So  deeply  absorbing  has  been 
the  application  of  my  soul  to  God  on  your  account,  that  I 
have  slept  but  little  during  the  past  night.  And  at  this  mo- 
ment I  can  give  an  idea  of  my  state  only  by  saying,  that  my 
spirit,  in  the  interest  which  it  feels  for  your  entire  renova- 
tion, burns  and  consumes  itself  within  me. 

"  I  have  an  inward  conviction,  that  the  obstacle,  which 
has  hitherto  separated  you  from  God,  is  diminishing  and 
passing  away.  Certain  it  is,  that  my  soul  begins  to  feel  a 
spiritual  likeness  and  union  with  yours,  which  it  has  not  pre- 
viously felt.  God  appears  to  be  making  me  a  medium  of 
communicating  good  to  yourself,  and  to  be  imparting  to  my 
soul,  graces,  which  are  ultimately  destined  to  reach  and  to 
bless  yours.  It  may  not  be  improper  to  say,  however,  that, 
while  he  is  blessing  and  raising  you  in  one  direction,  he 
seems  to  be  doing  that  which  may  be  the  means  of  profita- 
ble humiliation  in  another,  by  making  a  woman,  and  one 
so  unworthy  as  myself,  the  channel  of  communicating  his 
favors.  But  I  too  must  be  willing  to  be  where  God  has 
placed  me,  and  not  refuse  to  be  an  instrument  in  his  hands. 
He  assigns  me  my  work.  And  my  work  is  to  be  an  instru- 
ment. And  it  is  because  I  am  an  instrument,  which  he 
employs  as  he  pleases,  that  he  will  not  let  me  go.  Never- 
theless, he  makes  me  happy  in  being  his  prisoner.    He  holds 


94  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

me  incessantly,  and  still  more  strongly  than  ever,  in  his 
presence.  And  my  business  there  is  to  present  you  before 
him,  that  his  will  may  be  accomplished  in  you.  And  I  can- 
not doubt,  that  the  will  of  God  is  showing  itself  in  mercy, 
and  that  you  are  entering  into  union  with  him,  because  I 
find,  that  my  own  soul,  which  has  already  experienced  this 
union,  is  entering  into  union  with  you  through  him  ;  and  in 
such  a  manner  as  no  one  can  well  explain,  who  has  not  had 
the  experience  of  it. 

"I  have  strong  confidence  in  the  opinions  which,  from 
time  to  time,  I  express  to  you.  These  opinions,  as  I  cannot 
doubt,  are  formed  under  the  inward  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  still  they  have  all  the  appearance  of  being  pure- 
ly natural  operations  of  the  human  mind.  What  I  mean  to 
say,  is,  that  my  mind  does  not  form  its  conclusions  by  the 
extraordinary  methods  of  dreams,  inward  voices,  and  spir- 
itual lights  of  such  a  nature  that  they  are  not  reconcilable 
with  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  mind.  Such  sources  of 
development  and  knowledge,  speaking  in  no  unfavorable 
terms,  and  allowing  all  that  belongs  to  them,  are  liable  to  be 
misunderstood,  and  to  lead  persons  astray.  My  mind,  divest- 
ed, at  length,  of  that  selfishness  which  once  influenced  it,  and 
existing,  as  I  think,  in  simplicity  and  purity,  is  in  that  posi- 
tion which  is  most  certain  to  receive  the  secret  inspirations 
of  an  inward  divine  guidance,  without  those  doubtful  aids 
which  have  been  referred  to,  and  which  belong  to  a  lower 
degree  of  religious  experience.  So  easy,  so  natural,  so 
prompt,  are  the  decisions  of  the  sanctified  soul  on  all  moral 
and  religious  subjects,  that  it  seems  to  reach  its  conclusions 
intuitively.  And  if  such  a  person  is  asked  for  the  reason  of 
the  opinion  which  he  gives,  it  is  not  always  easy  for  him  to 
analyze  his  mental  operations,  and  to  give  it.  At  the  same 
time,  he  retains  great  confidence  in  the  opinion  itself,  as 
being  the  true  voice  of  God  in  the  soul,  although  it  may  not 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  95 

be  an  audible  one.  And  I  have  found  that  God,  in  a  very- 
remarkable  manner,  bears  witness  to  and  verifies  the  con- 
clusions which  he  thus  forms  in  holy  souls. 

"  I  would  not  have  any  one  infer  from  what  has  been  said, 
that  I  suppose  souls  which  have  passed  through  the  death 
of  nature  are  infallible.  There  are  various  inquiries,  (those, 
for  instance,  of  a  purely  natural  or  scientific  character,)  in 
which  they  are  liable  to  err  as  well  as  others.  But  it  is  still 
true,  that  God  teaches  holy  souls.  And  we  may  reasonably 
and  confidently  expect,  that  he  will  not  permit  those  who 
are  in  renovation  and  true  simplicity  of  spirit  to  fall  into 
errors  on  moral  and  religious  subjects,  which  will  be  to 
themselves  spiritually  hurtful. 

"  I  express  myself  fully  and  freely  to  you ;  but  I  do  not 
to  everybody.  There  are  some  persons  who  are  not  in  a 
state  which  corresponds  with  mine ;  and  therefore  there  are 
some  things  I  might  say,  which  they  would  not  be  in  a  situa- 
tion to  understand.  Your  situation  is  different.  Looking 
to  God  for  guidance,  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  give  me 
that  which  it  will  be  proper  and  necessary  to  say  to  you. 
Perhaps,  even  in  your  case,  comparatively  favorable  as  it  is, 
there  may  be  a  difficulty  in  fully  understanding  every  thing 
at  present.  Permit  me,  therefore,  to  request,  that  you  will 
remember  the  suggestions  I  make,  in  the  full  confidence  that 
you  will  appreciate  their  application  and  their  truth  at  some 
future  time.  You  will  see  things,  I  have  no  doubt,  taking 
place  in  their  appointed  time  and  order ;  and  you  will  see  it 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  furnish  to  you  an  evidence,  that  God 
is  making  use  of  one  so  small  and  so  unworthy  as  myself,  as 
a  means  of  communicating  his  mercy  and  of  accomplishing 
his  designs  upon  you. 

"This  instrumentality,  which  may  be  applied  to  some 
extent  when  we  are  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  cannot 
fail  to  be  beneficial,  provided  there  is  a  proper  correspond 


96  LIFE,    ETC. 

dence  on  your  part.  Do  not  be  deceived.  Do  not  regard 
this  humble  instrumentality  a  useless  thing.  It  is  certainly 
no  unreasonable  thing  that  God  requires  of  you  a  humble, 
teachable  spirit,  as  one  of  those  forms  of  experience  which 
are  involved  in  your  entire  loss  and  union  in  him.  Be  so 
humble  and  childlike  as  to  submit  to  the  dishonor,  if  such  it 
may  be  called,  of  receiving  blessings  from  God  through  one 
so  poor  and  unworthy  as  myself ;  and  thus,  the  grace  which 
God  has  imparted  to  my  own  heart  flowing  instrumentally 
into  yours,  and  producing  a  similarity  of  dispositions,  our 
souls  shall  become  like  two  rivers,  mingling  in  one  chan- 
nel, and  flowing  on  together  to  the  ocean.  Receive,  then, 
the  prayer  of  this  poor  heart,  since  God  wills  it  to  be 
so.  The  pride  of  nature,  in  one  in  your  situation,  will  cry 
out  against  it ;  but  remember  that  the  grace  of  God  is 
magnified  through  the  weakness  of  the  instrumentality  he 
employs.  Accept  this  method  in  entire  contentment  and 
abandonment  of  spirit,  (as  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  will,) 
simply  because  God  wills  it.  And  be  entirely  assured,  that 
God  will  bless  his  own  instrumentality,  in  granting  every 
thing  which  will  be  necessary  to  you. 

"  I  close  by  repeating  the  deep  sympathy  and  correspon- 
dence of  spirit,  which  I  have  with  you. 

"  Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guton." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Religious  state  of  Fenelon.  His  entire  consecration  to  God.  Per" 
plexities  connected  with  his  inward  experience.  His  correspcn- 
dence  with  Madame  Guyon.  Interesting  letter  written  by  him  in 
answer  to  one  received  from  her.  On  the  various  and  successive 
steps  of  inward  crucifixion.  Of  unfavorable  and  selfish  habits 
of  the  icill,  and  of  the  necessity  of  correcting  them.  Of  the  prin- 
ciple of  faith  in  its  relation  to  reason. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  personal  history  of 
Fenelon,  know  how  fully  he  combined  greatness  of  intellect 
with  humility  and  benevolence  of  temper ;  so  that  it  was  not 
difficult  for  him  to  associate  with  others,  or  even  to  receive 
instruction  in  those  particulars  in  which  his  own  experience 
was  defective.  And  accordingly  he  did  not  hesitate,  in  his 
personal  intercourse  with  Madame  Guyon,  and  in  his  written 
correspondence,  to  state "  frankly  those  points  in  which  he 
needed  advice.  He  was  already  a  religious  man  ;  reli- 
gious in  a  high  sense ;  but  still  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was 
not  all  that  he  ought  to  be,  and  not  all  that  with  divine 
aid  he  could  be.  He  panted  for  higher  advancements.  He 
could  not  rest,  until,  in  the  possession  of  victory  over  the 
natural  evils  of  the  heart,  he  had  become  one  with  God  in 
freedom  from  selfishness,  and  in  purity  and  perfectness  of 
love. 

2.  The  first  struggle  of  his  mind  seemed  to  turn  upon  the 
point,  whether  he  should  make  to  God  that  entire  and  abso- 
lute consecration  of  himself  in  all  things,  without  which  it  is 

VOL.  II.  9 


98  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

impossible  that  those  higher  results  should  be  realized,  to 
which  his  mind  was  now  directed.  In  a  mitigated  sense  he 
had  already  done  it ;  but  there  was  something  more  :  it  must 
now  be  formal,  decisive,  entire,  and  for  ever.  The  struggle 
is  generally  as  severe  at  this  point  as  at  any ;  but  when  this 
is  surmounted,  every  thing  else  will  infallibly  follow  in  its 
own  time  and  place.  We  do  not  mean  to  say,  that  every 
thing,  or  that  any  thing,  will  come  in  precise  conformity  to 
our  anticipations  of  it ;  but  it  will  come  just  as  God  would 
have  it  come. 

3.  Having  taken  this  first  and  great  step,  having  laid 
himself  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  he  awaited  the  dealings 
of  God  with  submission,  but  not  without  some  degree  of  per- 
plexity. The  way  was  new ;  and  it  baffled  in  his  case,  as  it 
generally  does  in  others,  all  the  conjectures  of  merely  human 
wisdom.  The  matter  of  forgiveness  through  Jesus  Christ,  as 
our  Saviour  from  the  penalty  of  the  violated  law,  was  easily 
understood  ;  but  that  of  holy  living,  that  of  being  kept  mo- 
ment by  moment,  in  distinction  from  forgiveness  in  the  first 
instance,  presented  itself  as  a  problem  attended  with  differ- 
ent incidents,  and  perhaps  involving  new  principles.  It  was 
under  these  circumstances,  and  in  this  state  of  mind,  that 
he  thought  it  entirely  proper  to  avail  himself  of  Madame 
Guyon's  higher  experience  and  inward  wisdom.  For  two 
years  they  kept  up  a  frequent  intercourse  by  letter,  —  a 
correspondence  in  which  it  is  easy  to  see  her  untiring 
patience  and  her  deep  religious  insight.  It  was  hard  for 
him  at  first  to  understand,  and  to  realize  in  practice,  the 
great  lesson  of  living  by  faith  alone.  Even  at  the  end  of 
some  six  or  eight  months  after  their  correspondence  com- 
menced, he  had  questions  to  propose,  and  difficulties  which 
required  to  be  resolved. 

4.  It  was  in  this  state  of  things,  that  she  wrote  to  him  a 
long  letter,  in  which  she  gives  a  general  view  of  the  process, 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  99 

in  which  the  soul,  that  is  entirely  consecrated  to  God,  un- 
dergoes the  successive  steps  of  inward  crucifixion  and  of 
progressive  conformity,  until  it  realizes  the  highest  results. 
She  took  great  pains  with  it.  The  communication  now 
referred  to  does  not  now  appear  in  her  works  in  the  form  of 
a  letter,  but  is  usually  printed  as  a  separate  treatise.  It  is 
entitled,  A  concise  View  of  the  Soul's  Return  to  God,  and 
of  its  Reunion  with  him.* 

To  this  long  paper,  which  shows,  not  only  her  ability,  but 
her  willingness  to  labor  for  the  good  of  others,  we  find  a 
well-digested  answer,  written  at  some  length,  from  Fenelon ; 
of  which  the  following  is  a  summary :  — 

[Paris,]  "Aug.  11,  1689. 

"  To  Madame  de  la  Mothe  Guyon. 

"  I  think,  Madame,  that  I  understand,  in  general,  the 
statements  in  the  last  paper  which  you  had  the  "kindness  to 
send  to  me  ;  in  which  you  describe  the  various  experiences 
which  characterize  the  soul's  return  to  God  by  means  of 
simple  or  pure  faith.  I  will  endeavor,  however,  to  recapitu- 
late some  of  your  views,  as  they  present  themselves  to  me, 
in  order  that  I  may  learn  from  you,  whether  I  correctly 
understand  them. 

"  I.  The  first  step  which  is  taken  (at  least  such  would  be 
the  natural  order)  by  the  soul  that  has  formally  and  perma- 
nently given  itself  to  God,  would  be  to  bring  what  may  be 
called  its  external  powers,  that  is  to  say,  its  natural  appe- 
tites and  propensities,  under  subjection.  It  is  not  possible 
for  the  consecrated  soul  to  avoid  doing  this.  This  would 
naturally  be  the  first  strife,  the  first  place  and  occasion  of 

*  In  Trench,  the  only  language  as  I  suppose  in  which  it  has  been 
published,  it  is  entitled,  Petit  Abr&ge'de  la  Voie  et  de  la  Reunion  de  VAmz 
a  Dim. 


100  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

struggle,  in  that  series  of  inward  and  outward  contests  which 
is  destined  ultimately  to  bring  the  whole  man  into  subjection. 
The  religious  state  of  the  soul  at  such  times  is  characterized 
by  that  simplicity  which  shows  its  sincerity,  and  that  it  is 
sustained  by  faith.  So  that,  in  the  contest  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking,  the  soul  does  not  act  of  itself  alone,  but  follows 
and  cooperates,  with  all  its  power,  with  that  grace  which  is 
given  it.    It  gains  the  victory  through  faith. 

"  II.  The  second  step,  in  the  process  of  actually  realizing 
in  inward  experience  what  is  prospectively  and  virtually 
involved  in  the  act  of  entire  consecration  to  God,  is  to  cease 
to  rest  on  the  pleasures  of  inward  sensibility.  The  struggle 
here  is,  in  general,  more  severe  and  prolonged  than  in  the 
first  contest.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  die  to  these  inward  tastes 
and  relishes,  which  make  us  feel  so  happy,  and  which  God 
usually  permits  us  to  enjoy  and  to  rest  upon  in  our  first 
experience.  "When  we  lose  our  inward  happiness,  that  is  to 
say,  that  inward  buoyancy  and  exhilaration  of  spirit  which 
depends  upon  numerous  circumstances,  we  are  very  apt  to 
think  that  we  lose  God ;  not  considering  that  the  moral  life 
of  the  soul  does  not  consist  in  pleasure,  but  in  union  with 
God's  will,  whatever  that  may  be.  The  victory  here  also  is 
by  faith ;  acting,  however,  in  a  little  different  way. 

"  III.  Having  gained  the  victory  over  all  undue  and  inor- 
dinate action  of  the  physical  nature,  and  being  crucified  also 
to  those  forms  of  inward  support  which  depend  merely  upon 
pleasurable  emotions,  another  step  in  the  process  is  that  of 
entire  crucifixion  to  any  reliance  upon  our  virtues,  either  out- 
ward or  inward.  The  habits  of  the  life  of  self  have  become 
so  strong,  that  there  is  hardly  any  thing,  in  which  we  do  not 
take  a  degree  of  complacency.  Having  gained  the  victory 
over  its  senses,  and  become  temperate  in  all  things,  and 
having  gained  so  much  strength,  that  it  can  live  by  faith, 
independently  of  the  support  of  inward  pleasurable  excite- 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  101 

merits,  the  soul  begins  to  take  a  degree  of  satisfaction,  which 
is  secretly  a  selfish  one,  in  its  virtues,  in  its  truth,  its  tem- 
perance, its  faith,  its  benevolence,  and  to  rest  in  them  as  if 
they  were  its  own,  and  as  if  they  gave  it  a  claim  of  accept- 
ance on  the  ground  of  its  merit.  This  is  a  state  of  things 
inconsistent  with  entire  acceptance  with  God,  and  is  wrong. 
It  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  in  the  process  of  inward 
crucifixion,  that  we  should  die  to  our  virtues.  It  is  not 
meant,  however,  as  every  one  will  readily  understand,  that 
we  are  to  be  dead  to  the  practice  of  them.  That  would  be 
a  great  error ;  but  we  are  to  be  dead  to  them  as  self- 
originated  virtues,  as  our  own  virtues.  We  are  to  be  dead 
to  them,  considered  as  coming  from  ourselves  ;  and  alive  to 
them  only  as  the  gifts  and  the  power  of  God.  We  are  to 
have  no  perception  or  life  to  them,  in  the  sense  of  taking  a 
secret  satisfaction  in  them ;  and  are  to  take  satisfaction  in 
the  Giver  of  them  only. 

"  IV.  A  fourth  step  in  this  process  is  this.  It  consists  in 
a  cessation  or  death  to  that  repugnance  which  men  naturally 
feel  to  those  dealings  of  God  which  are  involved  in  the 
process  of  inward  crucifixion.  We  must  die  to  our  aver- 
sions, as  well  as  to  our  desires.  The  blows  which  God 
sends  upon  us,  when  we  are  renovated  in  this  respect,  are 
received  without  those  feelings  of  opposition  which  once 
existed,  and  existed  oftentimes  with  great  power.  The 
soul,  when  it  has  arrived  at  this  state,  resists  nothing ;  it  is 
offended  at  nothing.  So  clear  is  its  perception  of  God's 
presence  in  every  thing ;  so  strong  is  its  faith,  that  those 
apparently  adverse  dealings,  which  were  once  exceedingly 
trying,  are  now  received,  not  merely  with  acquiescence,  but 
with  cheerfulness.     It  kisses  the  hand  that  smites  it. 

"  Y.  When  we  have  proceeded  so  far,  we  may  say  with  a 
good  deal  of  reason,  that  the  natural  man  is  dead.  And 
then  comes,  as  a  fifth  step  in  this  process,  the  new  life  ; 

VOL.  II.  9* 


102  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

not  merely  the  beginning  of  a  new  life,  but  a  new  life  in  the 
higher  sense  of  the  terms,  the  resurrection  of  the  life  of  love. 
All  those  gifts  which  the  soul  before  sought  in  its  own 
strength,  and  which  it  perverted  and  rendered  poisonous 
and  destructive  to  itself,  by  thus  seeking  them  out  of  God, 
are  now  richly  and  fully  returned  to  it,  by  the  great  Giver 
of  all  things.  It  is  not  the  design  or  plan  of  God  (his  na- 
ture will  not  allow  of  any  such  design  or  plan)  to  deprive 
his  creatures  of  happiness,  but  only  to  pour  the  cup  of  bitter- 
ness into  all  that  happiness,  and  to  smite  all  that  joy  and 
prosperity  which  the  creature  has  in  any  thing  out  of  him- 
self. There  is  a  moral  law  of  happiness,  which  is  as  un- 
changeable as  the  unchangeableness  of  moral  principles. 
He  smites  the  false  happiness,  or  happiness  founded  on  false 
principles,  which  is  only  the  precursor  of  real  and  perma- 
nent misery,  in  order  that  he  may  establish  the  true  and 
everlasting  happiness,  by  bringing  the  soul  into  perfect  com- 
munion and  union  with  himself,  and  by  enabling  it  to  drink 
the  living  water  from  the  Everlasting  Fountain.  And  the 
soul  has  this  new  life,  and  all  the  good  and  happiness  in- 
volved in  it,  by  ceasing  from  its  own  action,  (that  is  to  say, 
from  all  action  except  that  which  is  in  cooperation  with 
God,)  and  letting  God  live  and  act  in  it. 

"  VI.  And  this  life,  in  the  sixth  place,  becomes  a  truly 
transformed  life,  a  life  in  union  with  God,  when  the  will  of 
the  soul  becomes  not  only  conformed  to  God  practically  and 
in  fact,  but  is  conformed  to  him  in  every  thing  in  it,  and  in 
the  relations  it  sustains,  which  may  be  called  a  disposition 
or  tendency.  It  is,  then,  that  there  is  such  a  harmony  be- 
tween the  human  and  divine  will,  that  they  may  properly 
be  regarded  as  having  become  one.  This,  I  suppose,  was 
the  state  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  says,  '  Hive  ;  yet  not  I,  hut 
Christ  liveth  in  me.'  That  is  to  say,  through  the  power  of 
faith  in  God  through  Christ,  he  was  what  Christ  would  have 


OF    MADAME   GUYON.  103 

been  in  his  situation ;  he  had  Christ's  spirit ;  he  had  the 
same  simplicity  of  motive,  the  same  union  with  God's  will. 
And  thus  the  soul,  which  had  first  died  to  its  own  or  self- 
originated  action,  and  dying  again,  as  it  were,  to  its  own 
inactivity,  takes  a  new  life,  by  acting  no  longer  from  itself, 
but  in  cooperation  with  God. 

"  It  is  not  enough  to  be  merely  passive  under  God's  deal- 
ings. Passivity,  or  the  spirit  of  entire  submission,  is  a  great 
grace ;  but  it  is  a  still  higher  attainment  to  become  flexible  ; 
that  is  to  say,  to  move  with  perfect  ease,  and  without  any 
inward  repugnance,  in  God's  movement,  and  just  as  he 
would  have  us  move.  This  state  of  mind  might  perhaps  be 
termed  the  spirit  of  cooperation,  or  of  divine  cooperation. 
In  this  state  the  will  is  not  only  subdued ;  but,  what  is  very 
important,  all  tendency  to  a  different  or  rebellious  state  i# 
taken  away.  The  soul  now  acts  or  suffers,  acts  or  is  inac- 
tive, just  as  God  would  have  it  to  be ;  and  as  it  does  this 
without  the  trouble  of  first  overcoming  contrary  dispositions, 
it  does  it  without  pain.  It  may  suffer  in  its  outward  rela- 
tions ;  it  may  suffer  for  others ;  there  may  be  suffering  in 
various  degrees  in  the  natural  sensibilities ;  but  all  selfish- 
ness, and  all  tendency  to  selfishness,  being  taken  away,  it  no 
longer  suffers  in  its  interior  and  central  nature.  In  other 
words,  the  principle  of  faith,  which  is  the  true  centre  of  the 
renovated  soul,  sends  out  such  pure  and  rejoicing  consola- 
tions as  to  counterbalance  all  painful  influences.  Of  such  a 
soul,  which  is  described  as  the  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
God  himself  is  the  dweller  and  the  light. 

"  This  transformed  soul  does  not  cease  to  advance  in  holi- 
ness. It  is  transformed  without  remaining  where  it  is ;  new 
without  being  stationary.  Its  life  is  love,  all  love  ;  but  the 
capacity  of  its  love  continually  increases. 

"  Such,  Madame,  if  I  understand  them,  are  essentially  the 
sentiments  of  the  letter  which  vou  had  the  kindness  to  send 
me. 


104  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  I  wish  you  to  write  me,  whether  the  statement  which  I 
have  now  made,  corresponds  with  what  you  intended  to 
convey. 

"  I  would  make  one  or  two  remarks  further  in  explana- 
tion of  what  has  been  said.  One  of  the  most  important  steps 
in  the  process  of  inward  restoration  is  to  be  found  in  the 
habits  of  the  will.  This  I  have  already  alluded  to,  but  it  is 
not  generally  well  understood.  A  man  may,  perhaps,  have 
a  new  life ;  but  it  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  perfectly  trans- 
formed  life,  a  life  brought  into  perfect  harmony  with  God, 
until  all  the  evil  influences  of  former  habits  are  corrected. 
When  this  takes  place,  it  is  perhaps  not  easy  to  determine  ; 
but  must  be  left  to  each  one's  consciousness.  This  process 
must  take  place  in  the  will,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
mind.  The  action  of  the  will  must  not  only  be  free  and 
right,  but  must  be  relieved  from  all  tendency  in  another 
direction  resulting  from  previous  evil  habits. 

"  When  selfishness  is  entirely  removed  from  the  affections, 
and  when  the  will  is  in  a  state  of  entire  disappropriation,  or 
freedom  from  self,  so  as  to  act  entirely  in  accordance  with 
the  affections,  and  when  the  tendencies  of  former  habits  have 
ceased  in  both  cases ;  then  the  soul,  departing  from  itself  as 
that  self  was,  enters  fully  into  God,  and  not  only  becomes 
one  with  him  in  the  conformity  of  obedience,  but  one  with 
him  in  the  entire  concurrence  and  harmony  of  spiritual 
nature.  The  work  of  spiritual  union  is  not  entirely  com- 
pleted, till  these  results  have  been  realized. 

"  Another  remark  which  I  have  to  make,  is  in  relation  to 
faith.  That  all  this  great  work,  the  outlines  of  which  you 
have  given  in  your  letter,  is  by  faith,  is  true  ;  but  I  think 
we  should  be  careful,  in  stating  the  doctrine  of  faith,  not  to 
place  it  in  opposition  to  reason.  On  the  contrary,  we  only 
Say  what  is  sustained  both  by  St.  Paul  and  St.  Augustine, 
when  we  assert,  that  it  is  a  very  reasonable  thing  to  believe. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  105 

Faith  is  a  different  thing  from  mere  physical  and  emotive 
impulse ;  and  it  would  be  no  small  mistake  to  confound 
those  who  walk  by  faith  in  the  true  sense  of  the  terms,  with 
thoughtless  and  impulsive  persons  and  enthusiasts. 

"  Faith  is  necessarily  based  upon  antecedent  acts  of  intel- 
ligence. By  the  use  of  those  powers  of  perception  and  rea- 
soning, which  God  has  given  us,  we  have  the  knowledge  of 
the  existence  of  God.  It  is  by  their  use  also,  that  we  know 
that  God  has  spoken  to  us  in  his  revealed  word.  In  that 
word,  which  we  thus  receive  and  verify  by  reason,  we  have 
general  truths  laid  down,  general  precepts  communicated, 
applicable  to  our  situation  and  duties.  But  these  truths, 
coming  from  him  who  has  a  right  to  direct  us,  are  authorita- 
tive. They  command.  And  it  is  our  province  and  duty,  in 
the  exercise  of  faith  in  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  him 
who  issues  the  command,  to  yield  obedience,  and  to  go 
wherever  it  may  lead  us,  however  dark  and  mysterious  the 
path  may  now  appear.  It  is  thus,  in  the  language  of  St. 
John  of  the  Cross,  that  we  walk  in  the  obscurity  or  night  of 
faith ;  doing  without  knowing  what  we  do,  and  going  with- 
out knowing  where  we  go.  But  such  faith,  although  it  is 
not  identical  with  reason,  is  still  not  in  opposition  to  it,  but 
rather  rests  upon  it.  Those  who  walk  by  faith,  walk  in 
obscurity ;  but  they  know  that  there  is  a  light  above  them, 
which  will  make  all  clear  and  bright  in  its  appropriate  time. 
"We  trust ;  but,  as  St.  Paul  says,  we  know  in  whom  we  have 
trusted. 

"I  illustrate  the  subject,  Madame,  in  this  way.  I  suppose 
myself  to  be  in  a  strange  country.  There  is  a  wide  forest 
before  me,  with  which  I  am  totally  unacquainted,  although  I 
must  pass  through  it.  I  accordingly  select  a  guide,  whom 
I  suppose  to  be  able  to  conduct  me  through  these  ways 
never  before  trodden  by  me.  In  following  this  guide,  I 
obviously  go  by  faith  ;  but  as  I  know  the  character  of  my 


106  LIFE,    ETC. 

guide,  and  as  my  intelligence  or  reason  tells  me  that  I  ought 
to  exercise  such  faith,  it  is  clear  that  my  faith  in  him  is  not 
in  opposition  to  reason,  but  is  in  accordance  with  it.  On 
the  contrary,  if  I  refuse  to  have  faith  in  my  guide,  and 
undertake  to  make  my  way  through  the  forest  by  my  own 
sagacity  and  wisdom,  I  may  properly  be  described  as  a  per- 
son without  reason,  or  as  unreasonable  ;  and  should  probably 
suffer  for  my  want  of  reason  by  losing  my  way.  Faith  and 
reason,  therefore,  if  not  identical,  are  not  at  variance. 

"  Fully  subscribing,  with  these  explanations,  to  the  doc- 
trine of  faith  as  the  life  and  guide  of  the  soul, 

"  I  remain,  Madame,  yours  in  our  common  Lord, 

"  Francis  S.  de  la  Mothe  Fenelon." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Remarks  upon  Fenelon.  Letter  from  Madame  Guy  on  to  him.  Her 
remarks  on  faith.  Remarks  on  the  disappropriation  or  entire 
consecration  of  the  will.  Incident  in  her  past  experience  illustra- 
tive of  the  doctrine  of  faith.  Fenelon  appointed,  in  August  1689, 
preceptor  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Character  of  the  Duke.  Of 
the  labors  of  Fenelon  in  his  education.  Remarks  on  the  writings 
of  Fenelon.  Of  the  influence  of  Madame  Guyon  upon  him. 
Her  letter  to  him  on  his  appointment.  Revival  of  religion  at 
Dijon.    A  Poem. 

The  principles  of  the  inward  life,  which  he  had  thus 
learned  from  the  conversations  and  correspondence  of  Mad- 
ame Guyon,  commended  themselves  entirely  to  the  mind  of 
Fenelon.  It  is  true,  that  these  principles,  saying  nothing 
of  the  support  they  have  in  the  Scriptures,  are  found  with 
slight  variations  in  many  of  the  Mystic  writers ;  in  Kempis 
and  Thauler,  in  Ruysbroke,  in  Cardinal  Bona,  in  Catherine 
of  Genoa,  in  John  of  the  Cross,  and  others ;  but  Fenelon, 
although  it  was  very  different  with  him  at  a  later  period, 
does  not  appear  to  have  had  much  acquaintance  with  these 
writers  at  this  time.  These  important  views,  therefore, 
which  strike  so  deeply  at  the  life  of  nature,  and  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  a  purified  and  perfected  life,  were  new  to  him  in  a 
considerable  degree,  until  he  learned  them,  as  we  have  just 
stated,  in  his  acquaintance  and  correspondence  with  Madame 
Guyon. 


108  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPEi       .  <  J'4, 

2.  Although  they  were  thus  introduced  to  his'  notice 
through  the  instrumentality  of  a  woman,  who,  thougL  great- 
ly accomplished  in  other  respects,  possessed  but  a  limited 
knowledge  of  theological  writings,  and  who  had  learned 
them  not  so  much  from  books  as  from  the  dealings  of  God 
with  herself  personally,  they  were  nevertheless  sustained  by 
an  inward  conviction  of  their  soundness.  His  enlightened 
and  powerful  mind,  uninfluenced  by  the  various  prejudices 
which  often  prevent  a  correct  perception,  saw  at  once  that 
they  bore  the  signatures  of  reason  and  truth.  And  letting 
them  have  their  full  power  upon  himself,  and  endeavoring 
with  divine  assistance  to  be  what  he  felt  that  he  ought  to  be, 
he  stood  forth  to  the  world,  not  merely  a  man,  but  a  man  in 
the  image  of  Christ ;  not  more  commended  by  the  powers 
of  Ms  intellect  and  the  perfection  of  his  taste,  than  by  his 
simplicity  of  spirit,  his  purity,  and  benevolence. 

3.  It  is  in  this  inward  operation,  brought  about  under 
these  circumstances,  that  we  find  the  secret  spring  of  that 
almost  divine  justice  and  benevolence,  which  impart  un- 
speakable attractions  and  power  to  his  writings.  They  seem 
to  be  entirely  exempted  from  the  spirit  of  selfishness,  and  to 
be  bathed  in  purity  and  love.  And  I  believe  it  is  the  general 
sentiment,  that  no  person  reads  the  writings  of  Fenelon  with- 
out feeling  that  he  was  an  eminently  good  and  holy  man. 

4.  On  receiving  the  letter  of  Fenelon,  of  which  we  have 
given  an  abstract  in  the  last  chapter,  Madame  Guy  on  wrote 
a  letter  in  reply,  the  substance  of  which  is  as  follows :  — 

"  To  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  perceive,  sir,  that  you 
have  a  clear  understanding,  as  it  seems  to  me,  of  the  senti- 
ments which  I  wished  to  convey ;  and  it  gives  me  satisfac- 
tion also  to  notice  the  remarks  you  have  added.  I  agree 
with  you  entirely,  that   faith  and  reason,  though  different 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  109 

principles  of  action,  are  not  opposed  to  each  other.  He, 
however,  who  lives  by  faith,  ceases  to  reason  on  selfish  prin- 
ciples and  with  selfish  aims ;  but  submits  his  reason  to  that 
higher  reason,  which  comes  to  man  through  Jesus  Christ, 
the  true  conductor  of  souls.  He  who  walks  in  faith,  walks 
in  the  highest  wisdom,  although  it  may  not  appear  such  to 
the  world.  The  world  do  not  more  clearly  understand  the 
truth  and  beauty  of  the  life  of  faith,  than  the  ancient  Jews 
understood  the  divine  but  unostentatious  beauty  which  shone 
in  the  life  of  Christ.  A  worldly  mind,  full  of  the  maxims 
of  a  worldly  life,  is  not  in  a  situation  to  estimate  the  pure 
and  simple  spirit  of  one  whose  heart  is  conformed  to  the 
precepts  of  divine  wisdom. 

"  In  endeavoring  to  give  you  my  views  of  the  extent  and 
nature  of  that  transformation  which  the  holy  soul  under- 
goes, you  will  notice,  that  I  use  the  term  disappropriation, 
and  the  phrase  entire  disappropriation,  as  convenient  ex- 
pressions for  freedom  from  all  selfish  bias  whatever.  The 
phrase,  perhaps,  implies  no  more,  in  respect  to  the  state  of 
the  heart,  than  that  of  pare  love  ;  although  it  is  rather  a 
more  precise  and  appropriate  mode  of  expression,  when  we 
are  speaking  of  the  will.  I  perceive  that  you  understand 
and  appreciate  entirely  the  idea  wdiich  I  endeavored  imper- 
fectly to  express ;  namely,  that  the  disappropriation  or  un- 
selfishness of  the  will  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  perfect,  merely 
because  the  will  is  broken  down  and  submissive  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  have  no  repugnance  whatever  to  any  thing 
which  God  in  his  providence  may  see  fit  to  send.  It  is  true, 
this  is  a  very  great  grace.  In  a  mitigated  sense,  the  will, 
under  such  circumstances,  may  be  regarded  as  dead  ;  but,  in 
the  true  and  absolute  sense,  there  is  still  in  it  a  lingering  life. 
There  still  remains  a  secret  tendency,  resulting  from  former 
selfish  habits,  which  leads  it  to  look  back,  as  it  were,  with 
feelings  of  interest  upon  what  is  lost :  in  other  words,  it  put6? 

vol.  ti  10 


110  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

forth  its  purposes  a  little  less  promptly  and  powerfully  in 
some  directions,  than  it  would  have  done  if  it  had  been  re- 
quired to  act  in  others.  Thus  Lot's  wife  had  determined  to 
leave  the  city  of  Sodom  :  she  vigorously  purposed,  in  going 
forth  from  the  home  where  she  had  long  dwelt,  to  conform  to 
the  decrees  of  Providence,  which  required  her  departure ;  but 
still,  as  she  passed  on,  in  her  flight  over  the  plain,  there  was 
a  lingering  attachment,  a  tendency  to  return,  which  induced 
her  to  look  back.  Her  will,  though  strongly  set  in  the  right 
direction,  did  not  act  in  perfect  freeness  and  power,  in  con- 
sequence of  certain  latent  reminiscences  and  attachments, 
which  operated  as  a  hindrance.  In  like  manner  the  Jews, 
when  they  left  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  were  on  their  way 
to  the  better  country  which  the  Lord  had  promised  them, 
often  thought  with  complacency  of  their  residence  in  Egypt, 
and  of  what  they  enjoyed  there.  So  that,  while  their  purpose 
was  fixed,  it  was  not  so  inflexible,  and  so  easily  and  prompt- 
ly operative,  in  the  direction  it  had  taken,  as  it  would  have 
been  if  it  had  not  been  under  the  influence  of  former  evil 
habits.  When  the  affections  and  the  will  are  entirely  sur- 
rendered to  God,  and  the  secret  influences  of  former  evil 
tendencies  and  habits  are  also  fully  done  away,  the  soul  may 
be  regarded  as  sanctified  in  the  higher  sense,  and  as  having 
become  the  subject  of  a  divine  union.  Such  was  the  mean- 
ing I  intended  to  convey ;  and  I  believe  you  have  received 
and  appreciated  it,  as  I  intended. 

"  In  regard  to  the  principle  of  faith,  I  will  farther  say, 
that  it  sometimes  lies  latent,  as  it  were,  and  concealed  in  the 
midst  of  discomforture  and  sorrow.  I  recollect,  that  in  the 
former  periods  of  my  experience  I  once  spent  a  considerable 
time  in  a  state  of  depression  and  deep  sorrow,  because  1 
supposed  I  had  lost  God,  or  at  least  had  lost  his  favor.  My 
grief  was  great  and  without  cessation.  If  I  had  seen  things 
as  T  now  see  them,  and  had  understood  them  then  as  I  now 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  Ill 

understand  them,  I  should  have  found  a  principle  of  restora- 
tion and  of  comfort  in  the  very  grief  which  overwhelmed 
me.  How  could  I  thus  have  mourned  the  loss  of  God's 
presence,  or  rather  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  such  loss,  if  I 
did  not  love  him  ?  And  how  could  I  love  him,  without  faith 
in  him  ?  In  my  sorrow,  therefore,  I  might  have  found  the 
evidence  of  my  faith.  And  it  is  a  great  truth,  that  in  reality, 
whatever  may  at  times  be  the  appearance,  God  never  does 
desert,  and  never  can  desert,  those  who  believe. 

"  Desiring  to  receive  from  you,  from  time  to  time,  such 
suggestions  as  may  occur,  and  believing  that  your  continued 
and  increased  experience  in  religious  things  will  continually 
develope  to  you  new  truth, 

"  I  remain,  yours  in  our  Lord, 

"  Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 

5.  We  come  now  to  other  circumstances,  which  diversify 
the  features  and  the  interest  of  this  narrative.  It  was  about 
this  time,  that  Fenelon,  selected  in  preference  to  other  and 
able  competitors,  received  from  Louis  Fourteenth  the  ap- 
pointment of  preceptor  to  his  grandson,  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy ;  —  an  appointment  the  more  important  and  responsi- 
ble, because  the  duke  was  the  heir  apparent  to  the  throne 
of  France.  Fenelon  was  recommended  to  Louis  as  a 
suitable  person  to  fill  this  place  by  the  Duke  de  Beau- 
villiers,  whom  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  mention. 
Beauvilliers  held  at  this  time  the  office  of  governor  to  the 
grandchildren  of  the  king,  of  whom  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
was  the  eldest.  It  was  proper,  therefore,  that  he  should 
take  some  interest  and  some  responsibility  in  the  selection 
of  a  suitable  person  to  fill  the  office  of  preceptor  ;  an  office 
which  involved  the  immediate  superintendence  and  care  of 
the  education  of  this  prince. 

6.  "  Louis  Fourteenth."  savs  M.  de  Bausset,  in  remarking 


112  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

upon  these  appointments,  "  bad  not  hesitated  for  a  moment 
as  to  whom  he  should  select  as  a  governor  for  his  grandson; 
nor  did  Monsieur  Beauvilliers  [to  whom  the  appointment  of 
governor  was  given]  hesitate  a  single  moment,  as  to  the 
choice  of  a  preceptor.  He  nominated  Fenelon  to  that  office 
on  the  17th  of  August,  1689,  the  very  day  after  he  had  re- 
ceived his  own  appointment."  The  king  approved  the 
nomination,  apparently  with  entire  cordiality;  and  the  choice, 
which  was  made  under  these  circumstances,  was  greatly 
applauded  in  France.  We  have  the  recorded  testimony  of 
the  celebrated  Bossuet,  who  subsequently  came  into  painful 
collision  with  Fenelon,  how  satisfactory  and  gratifying  it  was 
to  him. 

7.  The  appointment  seems  to  have  been  unexpected  to 
Fenelon  ;  and  he  certainly  received  it  without  any  solicita- 
tion on  his  part.  The  duty,  which  was  especially  assigned 
him,  was  to  train  up,  in  a  suitable  manner,  the  young  prince, 
who  was  expected,  in  the  course  of  events,  to  fill  the  throne. 
He  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the  vast  responsibility  of  such 
an  undertakiug ;  but  he  did  not  see  fit  to  decline  it.  He 
was  appointed  to  this  office  in  the  middle  of  August,  and 
entered  upon  its  duties  in  the  September  following. 

8.  His  pupil,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  had  naturally  but 
few  of  the  elements  which  seemed  requisite  in  one  who  was 
destined  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  great  people.  In  his  natural 
dispositions  he  was  proud,  passionate,  and  capricious ;  tyran- 
nical to  those  who  were  his  inferiors,  and  haughty  and  dis- 
obedient to  those  who  had  the  control  of  him. 

"  The  Duke  of  Burgundy,"  says  Monsieur  de  St.  Simon, 
who  had  ample  opportunities  of  knowing  his  character,  "  was 
by  nature  terrible.  In  his  earliest  youth  he  gave  occasions 
for  fear  and  dread.  He  was  unfeeling  and  irritable  to  the 
last  excess,  even  against  inanimate  objects.  He  was  furiously 
impetuous,  and  incapable  of  ondiirino:  the  least  opposition. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  113 

even  of  time  and  the  elements,  without  breaking  forth  into 
such  intemperate  rage,  that  it  was  sometimes  to  be  feared, 
that  the  very  veins  in  his  body  would  burst.  This  excess  1 
have  frequently  witnessed."  * 

These  unhappy  traits  of  disposition,  which  all  the  histo- 
rians of  that  period  agree  in  ascribing  to  him,  were  perhaps 
rendered  the  more  dangerous  by  being  found  in  combination 
with  very  considerable  powers  of  intellect.  It  was  such  a 
character,  with  intellectual  powers  so  great,  and  passions  so 
excessive,  that  was  committed  to  Fenelon  to  be  trained, 
corrected,  and  remodelled. 

9.  To  this  great  task,  upon  the  success  of  which  appar- 
ently depended  the  hopes  and  happiness  of  France,  Fenelon 
brought  great  powers  of  intellect,  a  finished  education,  and, 
above  all,  the  graces  of  a  pure,  humble,  and  believing  heart. 
It  was  this  last  trait,  perhaps  more  than  the  others  that  have 
been  mentioned,  which  had  recommended  him  to  the  notice 
of  the  Duke  de  Beauvilliers.  The  duke  had  been  acquainted 
for  some  time  with  his  great  excellencies  in  other  respects  ; 
and,  being  a  personal  acquaintance  and  friend  of  Madame 
Guyon,  he  knew  also  the  religious  influences  to  which  he  had 
more  recently  been  subjected.  Beauvilliers  was  himself  a 
religious  man.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  for  him  to  desire, 
that  the  young  prince,  while  he  had  other  advantages  and 
means  of  culture,  should  not  be  deprived  of  those  connected 
with  a  religious  example  and  with  religious  impressions. 
Such  an  example,  and  such  religious  impressions  and  influ- 
ences, he  had  no  doubt  that  he  should  find  in  Fenelon. 

10.  Fenelon  undertook  this  difficult  task,  therefore,  which 
he  knew  required  something  more  than  mere  intellectual 
culture,  as  a  man  of  faith  and  prayer.  It  would  be  inter- 
esting and  profitable  to  enter  into  the  details  of  his  labors  ; 


*  See  the  Life  of  Fenelon,  by  de  Bausset,  vol.  i.  ch.  4 
vol.it.  10* 


114  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

but  this  would  hardly  be  consistent  with  the  plan  of  the 
present  work.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  however,  and  it  shows 
with  how  much  devotedness  he  engaged  in  them,  that  he 
wrote  for  the  special  instruction  and  benefit  of  this  prince 
his  well-known  Fables,  and  also  his  Dialogues ;  works  which 
have  since  contributed  to  the  instruction  and  happiness  of 
many  persons.  Each  of  the  Fables,  and  also  each  of  the 
Dialogues,  was  written  on  particular  occasions  and  with  par- 
ticular objects ;  having  been  composed  for  the  most  part, 
when  the  teacher  found  it  necessary  to  remind  his  pupil  of 
some  faults  which  he  had  committed,  and  to  inculcate  upon 
him  the  duty  and  the  methods  of  amendment. 

There  is  reason  to  suppose,  that  his  celebrated  work,  enti- 
tled the  Adventures  of  Telemachus,  which  was  published 
nany  years  afterwards,  was  also  written  at  this  time,  and 
with  the  same  general  object.  In  this  remarkable  work, 
which  is  so  generally  read,  we  have  a  striking  combination 
of  sound  judgment  with  great  resources  of  imagination ;  so 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say,  which  is  most  to  be  admired,  the 
wisdom  and  benevolence  of  its  political  and  moral  maxims, 
or  the  richness  and  beauty  of  its  imagery.  This  book,  more 
than  any  other,  has  become  the  text-book  of  sovereigns,  from 
which  they  have  derived  instructions  which  they  would  not 
be  likely  to  find  elsewhere  ;  although  its  sublime  and  benev- 
olent maxims  have  been  too  little  followed. 

11.  But  here  it  is  natural  to  make  the  inquiry  :  —  What 
one,  among  all  the  biographers  of  Fenelon,  lias  thought  of 
ascribing  the  truth,  purity,  and  love,  which  appear  in  these 
remarkable  writings,  and  still  more  in  his  religious  writings, 
the  most  of  which  appeared  at  a  later  period,  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Madame  Guyon  ?  It  was  at  this  very  time,  when 
sustaining  this  important  position,  and  fulfilling  these  ardu- 
ous duties,  and  composing  these  writings,  that  he  was  receiv- 
ing from  her  private  conversations,  and  from  her  correspon- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  115 

deuce,  influences  and  principles  which  can  never  die.  With 
scarcely  an  exception,  the  biographers  of  Fenelon  notice  this 
circumstance  very  slightly ;  and,  in  the  little  they  have  to 
say,  speak  less  of  the  aid  he  received,  than  of  the  dangers  he 
is  supposed  to  have  escaped.  But  it  seems  to  me,  that  it  is 
due  to  the  truth  of  history,  and  is  due  also  to  the  character 
and  the  fame  of  woman,  that  the  facts  should  be  known.  If 
the  writings  of  Fenelon,  taken  in  all  their  relations  and  all 
their  results,  have  exerted  an  influence  probably  not  inferior 
to  those  of  any  other  man,  it  ought  not  to  be  concealed  nor 
to  be  disguised,  that  it  was  a  woman's  mind,  operating  upon 
the  ,mind  of  their  author,  from  which  no  small  portion  of  the 
light  which  pervades  and  embellishes  them  first  proceeded. 

12.  And  I  think  it  may  be  proper  to  say  here,  that  this 
is  another  among  the  many  facts,  which  go  to  show  the  vast 
extent,  as  well  as  the  great  diversity,  of  woman's  influence. 
She  not  only  forms  man  in  childhood  and  youth,  by  that 
maternal  influence  which  exceeds  all  other  influence  in 
wisdom,  as  well  as  in  efficiency ;  but  in  maturer  years  her 
power,  though  less  obvious  perhaps,  does  not  cease  to  exist. 
Many  are  the  minds,  whose  controlling  energy  is  felt  in  the 
movements  and  the  destiny  of  nations,  and  whose  names  are 
imperishable  in  the  monuments  of  history,  that  have  been 
sustained  and  guided  in  their  seasons  of  action  and  endurance, 
in  the  origination  of  plans  of  benevolence  and  patriotism, 
and  in  the  fortitude  which  carried  them  into  effect,  by  the 
inspirations  of  woman's  genius  and  the  generous  purity  of 
her  affections. 

And  I  think  it  may  be  properly  added,  that  none  need 
this  influence  more  than  truly  great  men.  None  are  so  great 
in  this  life  as  to  be  beyond  the  need  of  support ;  and  there  is 
something  in  our  nature,  which  proclaims  that  the  kind  of 
support  which  they  most  frequently  and  most  deeply  need, 
is  to  be  found  here.    Occupied  with  great  conceptions,  placed 


116  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

in  trying  and  hazardous  situations,  burdened  with  anxieties, 
and  pressed  with  peculiar  temptations,  who  need  more  than 
they  the  consolations  of  her  sympathy  and  the  suggestions 
of  her  prudence  ? 

13.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Madame  Guyon,  in  all  her 
labors,  appreciated  relations  and  effects.  The  soul  of  Fene- 
lon,  in  itself  considered,  was  not  more  dear  to  her  than  that 
of  any  other  person.  But  when  she  considered  the  relations 
in  which  he  stood  and  the  influence  which  he  was  capable  of 
exerting,  and  that  his  mind  was  to  be  brought  into  contact  with 
the  minds  of  princes  and  kings,  she  felt  more  deeply  than 
can  be  expressed,  how  necessary  it  was  that  he  should  be 
delivered  from  the  power  of  inferior  motives,  and  that  he 
should  act  and  live  only  in  the  Lord. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that,  on  the  very  day  after 
his  appointment  to  the  office  of  preceptor  of  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  we  find  the  following  letter  :  — 

[Paris,]  "August  18th,  1689. 

"  To  the  Abbe  de  Fenelon. 

"  I  have  received  without  surprise,  but  not  without 
sincere  joy,  the  news  of  your  appointment;  —  an  appoint- 
ment, however,  in  which  it  seems  to  me  his  majesty  has 
done  no  more  than  respond  to  the  just  claims  which  you 
have  upon  this  important  office.  For  some  time  past,  as  it 
was  necessary  that  the  appointment  should  be  made,  I  have 
had  but  little  doubt,  that  it  would  devolve  upon  yourself. 

"  The  last  time  in  which  I  attended  the  religious  service 
of  mass,  at  which  you  administered,  I  had  an  impression  on 
my  mind,  without  being  able  to  tell  why  it  should  arise,  that 
I  might  not  hereafter  have  so  frequent  opportunities  to  unite 
with  you  in  this  service.  As  my  thoughts  were  thus,  in 
some  degree,  directed  to  yourself,  the  secret  prayer  arose 
from  my  heart,  —  Oh  that,  amid  the  artifices  of  the  world  to 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  117 

which  he  is  exposed,  he  may  ever  he  a  man  of  a  simple  and 
childlike  spirit !  I  understand  now,  better  than  I  did  then, 
why  it  was  that  the  Lord  gave  me  such  earnest  desires  in 
your  behalf. 

"  I  should  not  be  surprised,  sir,  if  you  should  experience 
some  degree  of  natural  distaste  and  repugnance  in  relation 
to  the  office  to  which  you  are  now  called ;  but  you  will  not 
fail  to  commit  yourself  entirely  to  the  Lord,  who  will  enable 
you  to  overcome  all  such  trials,  and  will  render  all  other 
necessary  aid.  When  the  moment  of  duty  and  of  action 
comes,  you  may  be  assured  that  he  will  not  fail  to  bestow 
upon  you  those  dispositions  and  qualifications  which  are 
appropriate  to  the  situation  in  which  his  providence  has 
placed  you.  Act  always  without  regard  to  self.  The  less 
you  have  of  self,  the  more  you  will  have  of  God.  Great 
as  are  the  natural  talents  which  God  has  given  you,  they 
will  be  found  to  be  useful  in  the  employment  to  which  you 
are  now  called,  only  in  proportion  as  they  move  in  obedience 
to  divine  grace. 

"  You  are  called,  in  God's  providence,  to  aid  and  to  super- 
intend in  the  education  of  a  prince  ;  —  a  prince,  too,  whom 
with  all  his  faults  God  loves,  and  whom,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
he  designs  to  restore  spiritually  to  himself.  And  I  have  the 
satisfaction  of  believing,  that,  in  the  discharge  of  this  import- 
ant office,  you  will  feel  it  your  duty  to  act  in  entire  depen- 
dence, moment  by  moment,  on  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  God  has  chosen  you  to  be  his  instrument  in  this 
work  ;  and  he  has  chosen  you  for  this  purpose,  while  he  has 
passed  by  others,  because  he  has  enabled  you  to  recognize 
and  appreciate,  in  your  own  heart,  the  divine  movement. 
Although  you  may  not,  on  account  of  the  extreme  youth  of 
the  prince,  see  immediately  those  fruits  of  your  labors  which 
you  would  naturally  desire,  still  do  not  be  discouraged.  Die 
to  yourself  in  your  hopes  and  expectations,  as  well  us  in 


118  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

other  things.  Leave  all  with  God.  Do  not  doubt,  that  the 
fruit  will  come  in  its  season ;  and  that  God,  through  the 
faith  of  those  that  love  him  and  labor  for  him,  will  build  up 
that  which  is  now  in  ruins.  I  cannot  conceal  from  you, 
what  I  have  already  intimated,  my  conviction  in  view  of  the 
divine  providences,  that  God  has  very  merciful  and  favora- 
ble designs  in  relation  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  prince : 
and  perhaps  you  will  be  made  a  blessing  to  the  king,  his 
grandfather,  also. 

"  In  seeing  you  enter  upon  a  new  field  of  labor,  I  cannot 
forget,  that  our  facilities  of  correspondence  will  be  somewhat 
diminished.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  see  each  other,  or  to 
write  to  each  other,  so  often  as  we  have  done  ;  but  it  will  not 
follow,  that  those  Christian  sympathies  which  have  sprung 
up  between  us,  will  be  broken.  A  separation  from  each 
other  will  not  interrupt  and  sunder  the  correspondence  of 
the  heart.  My  soul,  in  reference  to  yourself,  and  in  its  de- 
sire for  your  spiritual  interests,  is  like  a  lamp  which  contin- 
ually burns  and  consumes  itself  in  the  Lord's  presence. 

"  This  morning,  in  particular,  my  mind  was  greatly  exer- 
cised. And  as  I  was  thinking,  in  connection  with  your 
character,  and  your  position  in  society,  of  the  deep  interest 
which  I  had  felt,  and  which  I  continued  to  feel,  the  thought 
arose  in  my  heart,  Why  is  it  thus  2  why  does  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibility of  thus  watching  and  praying  rest  upon  me,  and 
consume  me  ?  I  am  but  a  little  child,  an  infant.  But  a 
voice  seemed  to  utter  itself  in  my  heart,  and  to  reply  :  — 
Say  not  that  thou  art  a  little  one.  I  have  put  my  word  in 
thy  mouth.  Go  where  I  shall  send  thee  ;  speak  what  I  shall 
command. 

"  I  speak,  then,  because  I  must  do  what  the  Lord  has 
appointed  me  to  do,  and  because  the  Lord  employs  me  as  an 
instrument,  and  speaks  in  me.  Already  my  prayer  is  ic 
part  answered.     When  the  work  is  completed,  and  when  J 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  119 

see,  in  the  full  sanctification  of  a  soul  which  is  so  dear  to  me, 
all  that  I  have  looked  for,  and  all  that  I  have  expected,  then 
shall  I  be  able  to  say,  Now,  Lord,  let  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace  ;  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation. 
"  I  remain,  yours  in  our  Lord, 

"  Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 

14.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1689,  a  few  months 
before  the  events  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  an  incident 
occurred,  which  may  properly  be  mentioned  here.  It  was 
at  this  time,  that  some  priests  and  theological  doctors  made 
a  visit  to  the  city  of  Dijon  and  its  neighborhood.  And, 
apparently  to  their  great  surprise,  they  found  a  considerable 
religious  movement  in  progress,  of  which  Madame  Guyon 
was  the  reputed  author,  and  which  was  evidently  sustained 
by  the  free  circulation  of  her  writings.  The  fact  was,  that, 
in  her  return  from  Grenoble  to  Paris  in  1686,  she  took 
Dijon  in  her  way,  and  spent  a  day  or  two  there.  This  cir- 
cumstance has  not  been  previously  mentioned.  The  time 
she  spent  there  was  very  short ;  but  she  left  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  a  few  persons,  especially  Monsieur  Claude  Guillot,  a 
priest  of  high  character  in  the  city.  The  seed,  which  was 
thus  sown  in  the  conversations  held  under  these  circum- 
stances, enforced  by  a  single  sermon  from  La  Combe,  sprung 
up  and  bore  fruit;  so  that  in  1689  the  new  religious  prin- 
ciples excited  much  attention.  The  persons  who  visited 
Dijon  at  this  time,  coming  as  they  seemed  to  have  done 
with  some  degree  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  interposed,  as 
far  as  they  were  able,  to  stop  this  state  of  things.  Among 
other  things  they  collected  three  hundred  copies  of  the  work 
of  Madame  Guyon  on  Prayer,  and  caused  them  to  he  pub- 
licly burned,* 

*  Relation  de  l'Origine.  du  Progres,  et  de  la  Condemnation  dn  Quie't* 
isme.  p.  32. 


120  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

15.  The  following  poem,  translated  by  Cowper,  contains 
sentiments,  which  will  be  found  conveyed  in  many  other 
places  of  Madame  Guyon's  writings.  She  seems  to  have 
felt  hardly  less  deeply  than  the  Apostle  John  himself,  that 
God  is  Love.  And  she  often  uses  the  expression,  Love,  as 
synonymous  with  the  Divine  Nature. 

divine  love  endures  no  rival. 

Love  is  the  Lord  whom  I  obey, 
"Whose  will  transported  I  perform ; 
The  centre  of  my  rest,  my  stay ;  — 
Love's  all  in  all  to  me,  myself  a  worm. 

For  uncreated  charms  I  burn, 
Oppressed  by  slavish  fear  no  more  ; 
For  one  in  whom  I  may  discern, 
E'en  when  he  frowns,  a  sweetness  I  adore. 

He  little  loves  him,  who  complains, 
And  finds  him  rigorous  and  severe ; 
His  heart  is  sordid  and  he  feigns, 
Though  loud  in  boasting  of  a  soul  sincere. 

Love  causes  grief,  but  'tis  to  move 
And  stimulate  the  slumbering  mind; 
And  he  has  never  tasted  love, 
Who  shuns  a  pang  so  graciously  design'd. 

Sweet  is  the  cross,  above  all  sweet, 
To  souls  enamor'd  with  thy  smiles : 
The  keenest  woe  life  ever  meets, 
Love  strips  of  all  its  terrors  and  beguiles. 

'T  is  just,  that  God  should  not  be  dear, 
Where  self  engrosses  all  the  thought ;  — 
And  groans  and  murmurs  make  it  clear, 
Whatever  else  is  loved,  the  Lord  is  not. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  121 

The  love  of  thee  flows  just  as  much 
As  that  of  ebbing  self  subsides ; 
Our  hearts  (their  scantiness  is  such) 
Bear  not  the  conflict  of  two  rival  tides. 

Both  cannot  govern  in  one  soul ; 
Then  let  self-love  be  dispossess'd ; 
The  love  of  God  deserves  the  whole, 
And  will  not  dwell  with  so  despised  a  guest. 


vol.  ir.  11 


CHAPTER    IX. 

1692.  Labors  of  Madame  Guyon  with  others.  Interviews  with 
Madame  de  Maintenon.  Unhappiness  of  the  latter.  Establish- 
ment of  the  Institution  of  St.  Cyr.  Interviews  there  between 
Madame  de  Maintenon  and  Madame  Guyon.  Labors  of  Mad- 
ame Guyon  with  the  young  ladies  of  the  Institution  of  St.  Cyr. 
Letters  to  them.  Madame  Guyon  visited  by  Sister  Malin,  resi- 
dent at  Ham.  Public,  attention  thus  directed  to  her  again. 
Her  interview  icith  the  learned  Peter  Nicole.  Interview  with 
Monsieur  Boileau,  brother  of  the  poet  of  that  name.  Writes 
at  his  suggestion  the  small  work,  entitled,  A  Concise  Apology  for 
the  Short  Method  of  Prayer.  Poisoned  by  one  of  her  servants. 
Temporary  concealment.  Friendship  of  M.  Fouquet.  His  sick- 
ness and  death. 

The  letters  which  passed  between  Madame  Guyon  and 
Fenelon,  the  greater  part  of  them  during  this  period  of  a 
little  more  than  two  years,  or  at  most  during  a  period  of 
three  years,  from  the  time  of  their  first  acquaintance,  occupy 
nearly  a  full  volume  of  her  printed  correspondence.  Nor 
was  the  influence  which  she  exerted  in  relation  to  him,  lim- 
ited to  her  letters.  The  same  great  objects,  which  induced 
them  thus  to  correspond  with  each  other  in  writing,  led  them 
also,  from  time  to  time,  to  seek  each  other's  company,  with  a 
view  to  a  more  direct  interchange  of  opinions.  These  inter- 
views, which  at  one  period  were  frequent,  cooperated  with 
the  other  means  that  were  used,  in  producing  those  marked 
results  on  the  mind  of  Fenelon,  the  origin  of  which  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  this  period. 


OP    MADAME    GUYON,  123 

2.  About  the  middle  or  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1690,  her  daughter,  as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to 
notice,  was  married  to  the  Count  de  Vaux.  At  this  time, 
she  left  the  house  of  Madame  de  Miramion,  with  whom  she 
had  taken  up  her  residence  since  her  imprisonment  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Marie,  and  removed  to  the  house  of  her 
daughter,  with  whom  she  resided  till  the  year  1692.  Her 
daughter's  residence  was  a  little  distance  out  of  the  limits  of 
the  city.  It  was  here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  that  Fen- 
elon  had  interviews  with  her  at  this  period. 

"  The  family,"  she  says,  "  into  which  my  daughter  was 
married,  being  of  the  number  of  the  Abbe  Fenelon's  friends, 
I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  him  at  our  house.  At 
such  times  our  conversations  turned  upon  the  subject  of  the 
inward  and  spiritual  life.  From  time  to  time  he  made  ob- 
jections to  my  views  and  experience,  which  I  endeavored  to 
answer  with  sincerity  and  simplicity  of  spirit.  The  doc- 
trines of  Michael  de  Molinos,  which  were  much  conversed 
about  at  that  time,  were  so  generally  disapproved  and  con- 
demned, that  the  plainest  things  began  to  be  distrusted ;  and 
the  terms,  which  are  used  by  writers  on  the  spiritual  life, 
were  for  the  most  part  regarded  as  objectionable,  and  were 
set  aside.  But,  notwithstanding  these  unfavorable  circum- 
stances, I  was  enabled,  in  our  conversations,  so  fully  to  ex- 
plain every  thing  to  Fenelon,  that  he  gradually  entered  into 
the  views  which  the  Lord  had  led  me  to  entertain,  and 
finally  gave  them  his  unqualified  assent.  The  persecutions, 
'which  he  has  since  suffered,  are  an  evidence  of  the  sincerity 
of  his  belief. 

3.  But  while  she  was  thus  laboring  and  praying  to  reno- 
vate and  to  mould  anew  the  mind  of  that  remarkable  man, 
whose  benign  influence  has  been  felt  by  millions  perhaps, 
who  have  known  nothing  of  her,  she  found  time  and  disposi- 
tion to  labor  for  others.     During  her  residence  at  the  house 


124  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  her  daughter,  where,  besides  frequent  interruptions  from 
company,  she  could  not  fail  to  be  constantly  reminded  of  the 
claims  and  duties  of  her  near  relationship,  her  religious 
labors,  it  is  true,  were  somewhat  circumscribed.  But,  as 
soon  as  it  was  clear  that  the  new  relations  and  interests  of 
her  daughter  would  permit,  she  felt  that  the  claims  of  the 
great  cause  to  which  she  had  devoted  herself,  required  her 
to  alter  her  situation.  And  accordingly,  after  the  lapse  of 
about  two  years,  she  once  more  hired  for  her  residence  a 
private  house  in  Paris,  in  which  she  had  her  time  more 
fully  at  command,  and  where  she  could  more  readily  pur- 
sue the  objects  of  the  mission  to  which  her  Saviour  had 
called  her. 

4.  It  was  in  the  year  1692,  as  I  suppose,  after  she  had 
thus  established  herself  again  in  Paris,  that  her  acquaintance 
with  Madame  de  Maintenon  became  somewhat  intimate. 
This  celebrated  woman,  although  for  political  reasons  she 
was  not  publicly  acknowledged  as  such,  had  been  privately 
married,  and  in  reality  sustained,  at  this  time,  the  relation 
of  wife  of  Louis  Fourteenth.  She  had  his  confidence  as 
well  as  his  affections  ;  and  for  many  years  the  most  import- 
ant affairs  of  France  depended,  in  a  great  degree,  upon  her 
cognizance  and  concurrence.  Her  power  was  felt  to  be 
hardly  less  than  that  of  the  king.  The  greatest  men  of  the 
kingdom  paid  her  homage.  Every  thing  which  wealth  or 
art  could  furnish,  was  put  in  requisition  to  meet  her  wishes, 
and  to  render  her  happy.  But  still  there  was  a  void  within 
her  which  the  riches  and  honors  of  the  world  could  not 
supply. 

Her  letters,  which  show  her  talents,  and  which  discover 
many  excellent  points  of  character,  disclose  also  a  sorrow  of 
mind  which  she  felt  could  have  no  balm  but  in  religion.  It 
is  not  the  world  which  can  heal  the  wounds  it  has  itself 
made. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  125 

5.  Writing  to  Madame  de  la  Maisonfort,  she  says :  — 
"  Why  can  I  not  give  you  my  experience  ?  Why  can  I  not 
make  you  sensible  of  that  uneasiness  which  preys  upon  the 
great,  and  the  difficulty  they  labor  under  to  employ  their 
time  ?  Do  you  not  see,  that  I  am  dying  with  melancholy,  in 
a  height  of  fortune  which  once  my  imagination  could  scarce 
have  conceived  ?  I  have  been  young  and  beautiful,  have 
had  a  high  relish  of  pleasure,  and  have  been  the  universal- 
object  of  love.  In  a  more  advanced  age,  I  have  spent  years 
in  intellectual  pleasures  ;  I  have  at  last  risen  to  favor  ;  but 
I  protest  to  you,  my  dear  Madame,  that  every  one  of  these 
conditions  leaves  in  the  mind  a  dismal  vacuity."  * 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  and  for  these  reasons, 
that  she  sought  and  valued  the  company  of  Madame  Guyon. 
She  needed  the  intercourse  and  advice  of  persons  of  piety ; 
but  such  was  her  refinement,  and  such  her  position  in  life, 
that  she  naturally  exercised  some  discrimination.  She  had 
been  introduced  to  Madame  Guyon,  soon  after  her  release 
from  the  prison  of  St.  Marie ;  and  there  was  something  in 
her  person  and  manners  which  attracted  her ;  and  still  more 
in  that  divine  aspect  of  purity  and  quietness,  which  an- 
nounced a  soul  in  harmony  with  God  and  at  rest.  She  saw 
her,  from  time  to  time  afterwards  ;  and  at  the  time  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  she  went  so  far  as  to  invite  her  to  the 
royal  palace  at  Versailles ;  and  felt  it  no  dishonor,  as  she  cer- 
tainly felt  it  a  great  satisfaction  and  relief,  to  hear  from  the 
lips  of  her  misrepresented  and  persecuted  visitant  the  story 
of  a  Saviour's  condescension,  of  the  remedy  for  sin,  and  of 
the  victory  which  Christ  can  give  over  the  ills  of  our  fallen 
nature. 

6.   Among  the  objects  which  occupied  much  of  the  time 
and  affections  of  Madame  de  Maintenon,  was  the  celebrated 


*  See  Voltaire's  Life  of  Louis  Fourteenth,  vol.  ii.  chap.  26. 
VOL.  II.  11  * 


126  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Female  Institution  of  St.  Cyr,  established  in  1686.  She 
was,  in  fact,  the  foundress  of  it.  It  was  a  charitable  Insti- 
tution, combining  both  literary  and  religious  objects,  designed 
for  the  support  and  education  of  indigent  young  ladies,  at 
any  period  under  twenty  years  of  age;  the  daughters  of 
persons,  who  had  suffered  losses  or  spent  their  lives  in  the 
service  of  the  state.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  young  ladies, 
many  of  them  from  illustrious  but  unfortunate  families,  were 
assembled  there. 

Tired  of  the  splendor  and  cares  of  Versailles,  and  attracted 
by  the  quiet  and  benevolence  of  an  institution  founded  on 
such  principles,  Madame  de  Maintenon  spent  much  of  her 
time,  at  this  period,  at  St.  Cyr.  It  was  here  that  Madame 
Guyon  met  her  still  more  frequently  than  at  Versailles.  St. 
Cyr  not  only  furnished  better  opportunities  for  private  and 
protracted  conversations,  but  was  rendered,  by  its  retired  and 
less  worldly  aspects,  more  appropriate  to  the  objects  which 
called  them  together. 

And  not  only  that,  they  could  meet  there  without  exciting 
the  suspicions  of  Louis,  who  could  not  conceal  his  displeas- 
ure at  every  thing  which  had  the  least  appearance  of  heresy. 
There  were  reasons,  which  would  account  for  the  presence 
of  Madame  Guyon  at  St.  Cyr,  which  would  not  apply  to  her 
visits  at  Versailles.  Madame  de  la  Maisonfort,  her  friend 
and  relative,  was  employed  at  this  time  as  an  instructress  in 
the  institution.  In  her  visits  also,  from  time  to  time,  to  the 
Duchess  of  Charosi,  at  her  residence  at  Beine,  to  whom  she 
was  now  related  by  the  marriage  of  her  daughter,  she  was 
accustomed  to  take  a  route  which  led  in  the  vicinity  of  St. 
Cyr.  So  that  under  these  circumstances  she  found  it  not 
more  agreeable  to  her  feelings,  than  it  was  entirely  con- 
venient for  her,  frequently  to  visit  there. 

7.  Madame  de  Maintenon,  pleased  and  edified  by  the 
conversations  and  instructions  of  Madame  Guyon,  gave  her 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  12* 

liberty  to  visit  the  young  ladies  of  the  Institution,  and  to 
converse  with  them  on  religious  subjects.  Nothing  could 
have  been  more  agreeable  than  such,  a  labor,  for  which 
Providence  seems  to  have  especially  fitted  her.  The  results 
corresponded  to  her  wishes  and  expectations.  The  divine 
presence  and  blessing  which  almost  uniformly  attended  her 
in  other  places,  did  not  desert  her  here.  "  Several  of  the 
young  ladies,"  she  says,  "of  the  House  or  Institution  of  St. 
Cyr,  having  informed  Madame  Maintenon,  that  they  found 
in  my  conversation  something  which  attracted  them  to  God, 
she  encouraged  me  to  continue  my  instructions  to  them  ;  and 
by  the  great  change  in  some  of  them,  with  whom  she  had 
previously  not  been  well  satisfied,  she  found  she  had  no  rea- 
son to  repent  it." 

It  was  something  new  to  the  members  of  this  institution,  — 
some  of  whom  were  from  fashionable  though  reduced  fami- 
lies, while  others  of  a  more  serious  turn  probably  had  nothing 
more  than  a  form  of  godliness,  —  to  hear  of  redemption, 
and  of  permanent  inward  salvation  by  faith.  Probably  all 
of  them,  without  any  exception,  had  been  accustomed,  more 
or  less,  to  the  ceremonials  of  religion  ;  and  it  was  not  un- 
natural for  them,  those  who  were  seriously  disposed  and 
those  who  were  not  so,  to  confound  the  ceremonial  with  the 
substance,  the  sign  with  the  thing  signified.  This  might 
not  have  been  the  case  in  all  instances  ;  but  generally  they 
regarded  their  acceptance  with  God  as  depending,  in  a 
great  degree  at  least,  on  a  number  of  outward  observ- 
ances, rather  than  on  inward  dispositions ;  and  least  of  all 
did  they  understand  the  nature  of  a  life  which  had  its  begin- 
ning and  its  end,  its  centre  and  its  circumference,  if  we  may 
so  express  it,  in  the  simple  principle  of  faith. 

8.  Turned  by  the  conversation  of  Madame  Guyon  from 
the  outward  to  the  inward,  led  to  reflect  upon  their  own 
situation  and  wants,  they  saw  that  there  is  something  better 


128  LIFE    AND    KELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

than  worldly  vanity ;  and  began  to  seek  a  truer,  sincerer, 
and  higher  position.  They  understood  and  felt  deeply  for 
the  first  time,  that  religion,  something  more  than  the  mere 
ceremonial,  is  a  life  ;  and  that  they  only  are  wise,  and  true, 
and  happy,  who  live  to  God.  Precisely  how  far  this  moral 
and  religious  revolution  went  in  this  institution  is  not  known ; 
but  it  seems  to  have  been  quite  general.  Certain  it  is  that 
a  seriousness  pervaded  it,  such  as  had  not  existed  there  be- 
fore :  there  was  a  general  recognition  of  the  claims  of  God ; 
and  the  spirit  of  faith  and  prayer,  of  purity  and  of  true  be- 
nevolence, took,  in  a  great  degree,  the  place  of  thoughtless 
scepticism  and  of  frivolous  gaiety. 

9.  We  should  hardly  give  a  full  view  of  the  labors  of 
Madame  Guyon  with  this  interesting  society  of  young  ladies, 
without  adding  that  they  were  not  limited  to  personal  inter- 
views and  conversations.  Not  unfrequently  she  received 
from  some  of  their  number  letters,  proposing  inquiries  on  the 
subject  of  inward  experience  and  of  practical  duty,  which 
she  thought  it  proper  to  answer  in  writing.  She  sometimes 
wrote  to  them  on  special  occasions,  without  being  invited  to 
it  by  formal  inquiries.  The  following  letter  will  illustrate 
her  labors  in  this  way  :  — 

"  Mademoiselle , 


"  I  have  heard  of  the  news  of  your  sickness,  and  not 
without  being  sensibly  affected  by  it ;  but  it  has  been  a  great 
satisfaction  to  me  to  find,  that  God  has  been  present  with 
you,  and  that  your  outward  sorrows  have  had  an  inward 
reward.  Afflictions  are  the  allotment  of  the  present  life ; 
and  happy  will  it  be,  Mademoiselle,  if  you  shall  learn  the 
great  lesson  of  always  improving  them  aright.  This,  I  think, 
you  will  be  able  to  do,  if  you  are  faithful  to  the  inward 
voice. 

"  Of  the  inward  voice,  or  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul,  I 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  129 

will  endeavor  to  give  you  my  views  more  distinctly  than 
I  have  hitherto  done,  because  it  seems  to  me  a  matter  of 
great  practical  importance,  that  you  should  understand  what 
it  is.  This  voice  is  not  an  audible  voice,  as  the  name  might 
seem  to  imply ;  but  simply  an  act  of  the  judgment,  an  inter- 
nal and  silent  decision  of  the  mind.  But  it  is  God's  de- 
cision ;  or,  if  you  prefer  it,  it  is  God's  voice  ;  the  voice  of 
God  in  the  soul. 

"  One  of  the  most  important  conditions  on  which  we  can 
have  this  inward  divine  utterance,  is  this,  —  The  soul  must 
be  in  perfect  simplicity.  That  is  to  say,  it  must  be  free  from 
all  the  varieties  of  human  prejudice  and  passion.  All  such 
prejudice,  and  all  inordinate  action  of  the  passions  of  what- 
ever kind,  tend  to  pervert  the  judgment.  And  a  judgment 
formed  under  such  influences,  and  which  therefore  is  neces- 
sarily a  perverted  one,  can  never  be  the  decision  or  voice  of 
God.  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God.  He 
dwells  in  and  guides  the  soul,  which,  in  looking  at  God's 
will  alone,  is  in  simplicity  ;  but  he  leaves  the  soul  which  is 
under  any  degree  of  selfish  bias. 

"  In  order,  therefore,  to  experience  the  inward  divine 
guidance,  and  to  hear  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul,  we  must 
lay  aside  all  interests  of  our  own,  which  are  inconsistent  with 
God's  will,  and  also  all  such  interests  and  claims  of  our 
friends.  Prejudiced  neither  in  favor  of  any  thing,  nor  preju- 
diced against  it,  but  laying  both  our  inclinations  and  our 
aversions  on  the  divine  altar,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  possess 
a  mind,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  in  equilibrio  ;  that  is  to 
say,  which  is  balanced  from  motives  of  self  neither  one  way 
nor  the  other,  and  which  remains  in  this  state  of  strict  and 
unselfish  impartiality,  until  it  is  decided  to  some  course  of 
action  by  a  motive  drawn  from  God's  will  alone.  Such  a 
decision,  which  God  not  only  recognizes  but  makes,  is  truly 
God's  voice. 


130  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  To  those  who  are  wholly  consecrated  to  God,  and  who 
fully  believe  in  his  promise,  this  voice  is  sure.  In  other 
words,  God,  acting  through  their  sanctified  judgments,  will 
not  fail  to  guide  them  in  the  right  manner,  so  far  as  their 
own  moral  responsibility  is  concerned,  and  in  such  a  manner 
also  as  will  please  himself.  And  it  is  my  prayer,  Mademoi- 
selle, that  you  may  have  this  inward  divine  guidance.  I  look 
upon  it,  not  only  as  desirable,  but  as  essential.  Give  me  the 
satisfaction  of  hoping  and  believing,  that  you  will  not  rest 
contented  with  any  thing  short  of  this  state. 

"Not  doubting  that  you  will  receive  the  suggestions  of 
this  letter  as  the  result  of  my  sincere  affection,  and  of  my 
earnest  desire  for  your  religious  good, 
H I  remain  yours, 
"  Jeanne  M.  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 

10.  The  following  letter  appears  to  have  been  written  to 
a  married  lady  ;  but  it  is  quite  probable,  that  she  was  one 
with  whom  Madame  Guyon  had  previously  become  ac- 
quainted at  St.  Cyr.  The  terms  of  the  letter  show,  at  least, 
that  this  correspondent  was  one  of  those  who  looked  to  her 
for  advice  and  instruction. 


"  Madame 


"  Our  friend  N has  departed.     She  was  a  choice 

and  excellent  young  woman  ;  and,  in  leaving  a  world  where 
she  endured  so  many  trials,  she  has  received  the  recompense 
of  her  labors  and  sufferings. 

"  You  are  right,  Madame,  in  saying  in  your  letter  that  it 
is  not  common  for  us  to  meet  with  such  treasures  of  grace. 
They  are  indeed  more  rare  than  can  be  expressed.  Few, 
very  few,  go,  as  she  did,  to  the  bottom  of  the  heart. 

"  The  great  majority  of  those  who  profess  an  interest  in 


OF    .MADAME    GUYON.  131 

religious  things  —  those  who  are  religious  teachers  and  guides, 
as  well  as  those  who  are  seekers  of  religion —  stop  short,  and 
are  satisfied  with  remaining  in  the  outside  and  surface  of 
things.  They  ornament  and  enrich  the  exterior  of  the  ark, 
forgetting-  that  God  commanded  Moses  to  begin  with  the 
inside  and  overlay  it  with  gold,  and  afterwards  to  ornament 
the  outside.  Like  the  Pharisees  of  old,  they  make  clean 
the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter,  but  leave  the  inside  im- 
pure. In  other  words,  while  they  endeavor  to  make  a  good 
appearance  to  men  outwardly,  they  are  inwardly  full  of  self- 
love,  of  self-esteem,  of  self-conceit,  and  of  self-will.  How 
different  the  religious  state,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  of  these 
persons  from  that  of  our  departed  friend  ! 

"  Why  do  you  make  a  difficulty,  Madame,  in  speaking  to 
me  about  your  dress  ?  Should  you  not  be  free,  and  tell  me 
all  ?  You  have  done  well  in  laying  aside  the  unnecessary 
ornament  to  which  you  refer.  I  entreat  you  never  to  wear 
it  again.  I  am  quite  confident  also,  that,  if  you  would  listen 
to  the  secret  voice  which  speaks  in  the  bottom  of  your  heart, 
you  would  find  more  things  to  put  off.  Perhaps  you  will 
say,  that  you  must  regard  your  husband's  feelings  as  well  as 
your  own.  This  is  true ;  but  I  am  persuaded,  that,  in  his 
present  favorable  dispositions,  you  will  please  him  as  much 
by  laying  aside  those  ornaments  as  by  wearing  them. 

"  Consider  what  you  owe  to  God,  and  promptly  crucify  all 
the  pretexts  of  nature.  You  will  never  make  any  such  cru- 
cifixion of  the  desires  and  pretences  of  the  natural  life,  with- 
out drawing  down  some  returns  of  divine  grace  upon  you. 
He  who  promised  a  recompense  even  to  a  cup  of  cold  water 
given  for  his  sake,  will  not  fail,  on  the  same  principle,  to 
regard,  and  to  recompense  with  his  favor,  the  self-denial  of 
his  children,  even  in  the  matter  of  dress. 

"  A  Christian  woman  should  be  distinguished  from  others 
by  a  neat  and  modest  dress,  but  not  by  a  dress  so  affected 


132  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

and  ornamented  as  to  attract  attention.  It  is  not  necessary, 
however,  to  lay  down  an  invariable  rule.  It  is  very  proper, 
undoubtedly,  that  you  should  wear  apparel  which  is  suited 
to  your  situation  and  rank  in  life ;  but  you  will  pardon  me 
for  suggesting  the  propriety  and  duty,  besides  the  altera- 
tion to  which  I  have  already  referred,  of  putting  off  those 
superfluous  ribbons.  I  am  confident  that,  in  so  doing,  you 
will  not  be  less  pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  your  husband  ;  and 
that  you  will  be  much  more  so  in  the  eyes  of  Him  whom 
you  wish  to  please  above  all. 

"  I  am  desirous,  when  you  write  to  me,  that  you  should 
feel  the  greatest  confidence  and  freedom.  Do  not  be  afraid 
to  propose  questions  to  me  upon  things  which  the  world 
might  regard  as  trifling.  So  far  from  lessening  my  esteem 
for  you,  it  will  have  quite  a  different  effect,  because  I  infer 
from  your  anxiety  in  such  particulars,  that  you  have  a  dis- 
position to  give  yourself  wholly  to  God.  It  is  a  sign,  I 
think,  that  God,  in  making  you  attentive  and  careful  in  the 
smallest  things,  is  laying  the  foundations  of  his  inward  work 
in  the  very  centre  of  the  heart, 

"  Most  earnestly  I  beseech  you  to  be  faithful  to  him.  In 
following  the  divine  guidance,  and  in  doing  the  divine  will, 
you  will  find  a  thousand  times  more  satisfaction,  than  in  the 
pleasures  which  the  world  can  impart  to  you. 

"  Thus  desiring  that  you  may  be  guided  and  kept, 
"  I  remain  yours  in  our  Lord, 

"  Jeanne  M.  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 

11.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  such  an  institution 
as  that  of  St.  Cyr,  embracing  within  its  walls  many  persons 
who  were  the  hopes  of  celebrated  families,  was  naturally  a 
centre  of  influence.  And,  accordingly,  such  a  religious 
movement  as  that  of  which  the  providence  of  God  had  made 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  133 

Madame  Guyon  the  instrument  at  this  time,  could  not  well 
take  place,  without  being  extensively  known.  It  was  thus 
that  public  attention  was  directed  to  her  again.  Her  oppo- 
sers,  who  seem  to  have  supposed  that  her  zeal  would  be 
checked  by  the  discipline  of  her  first  imprisonment,  and  who 
had  somewhat  relaxed  their  watchfulness  for  a  year  or  two 
past,  were  once  more  on  the  alert. 

12.  It  was  not  only  at  Paris,  at  Dijon,  at  Versailles,  and 
St.  Cyr,  that  her  influence  was  felt ;  but  there  began  to  be 
evidences  of  it  in  other  places.  A  single  incident  will  illus- 
trate what  we  mean  :  —  A  sister  Malin,  (those  females  who 
were  united  in  spirit,  by  being  devoted  to  a  religious  life, 
were  appropriately  called  sisters,)  resident  at  the  town  of 
Ham  in  the  then  province  of  Picardy,  was  so  deeply  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  religious  instruction  on  principles  differ- 
ent from  those  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed,  that  she 
came  to  Paris  for  the  sole  purpose  of  obtaining  such  instruc- 
tion from  Madame  Guyon  personally.  She  had  charge,  at 
the  place  where  she  resided,  of  an  institution  for  the  educa- 
tion of  girls  ;  and  seemed  desirous  to  learn  the  truth  for 
others  as  well  as  herself.  To  cases  of  this  kind,  Madame 
Guyon  always  gave  a  prompt  and  earnest  attention. 

13.  Persons  also  sought  her  society  who  had  no  faith  in 
her  doctrines,  but  were  either  anxious  to  obtain  further 
information,  or  to  make  her  a  convert  to  their  own  views. 
There  were  many  such  ;  and  among  them  was  the  celebrated 
Peter  Nicole,  known  extensively  by  a  multiplicity  of  writings 
on  various  subjects,  and  as  the  friend  and  literary  associate 
of  Arnauld,  the  Port-Eoyalist.  "  There  was  an  acquaint- 
since  of  mine,"  she  says,  "  an  intimate  friend  also  of  Mon- 
sieur Nicole,  who  had  often  heard  him  speak  against  me. 
This  person  thought  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  remove 
the  objections  and  prejudices  of  Nicole,  if  we  could  be  made 
personally  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  have  opportuni* 

vol.  it.  12 


134  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ties  of  conversation  together.  He  thought  it  important  to 
make  the  attempt,  because  many  who  were  opposed  to  the 
views  I  entertained,  had  received  their  impressions  from 
him.  Accordingly,  although  it  was  with  some  reluctance  on 
my  part,  we  met  together. 

"  After  some  little  conversation,  he  referred  to  my  book, 
entitled  the  Short  and  Easy  Method  of  Prayer,  and  made 
the  remark  that  it  was  full  of  errors.  Upon  this  I  proposed 
to  him,  that  we  should  read  the  book  over  together ;  and  I 
desired  him  to  tell  me  frankly  and  kindly  those  things  in  the 
book  which  seemed  to  him  objectionable ;  expressing  the 
hope,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  might  be  able  to  meet  and 
answer  them.  He  expressed  himself  well  satisfied  with  the 
proposition ;  and,  accordingly,  we  read  the  book  through 
together  with  much  attention,  chapter  by  chapter. 

"  After  we  had  read  it  partly  through,  I  asked  him  to 
specify  his  objections  ;  but  he  replied,  that,  so  far  as  we  had 
read,  he  had  none.  After  we  had  completed  the  book,  and 
after  he  had  looked  here  and  there  carefully  for  a  long  time, 
I  repeated  the  question.  Madame,  said  Nicole,  I  find  that 
my  talent  is  in  writing,  and  not  precisely  in  personal  discus- 
sions of  this  kind.  If  you  have  no  objections,  I  will  refer 
you  to  a  learned  and  good  friend  of  mine,  Monsieur  Boileau. 
You  will  find  him  at  the  Hotel  de  Luines.  He  will  be  able 
to  indicate  the  imperfections  of  the  book,  whatever  they  may 
be ;  and  perhaps  you  will  be  able  to  profit  by  his  sugges- 
tions." 

14.  Nicole  was  a  very  learned  man,  and  a  great  master 
of  reasoning.  But  he  had  probably  never  read  the  book, 
although  he  supposed  himself  to  be  well  acquainted  with  it 
by  report ;  and  hence  his  peculiar  and  not  very  creditable 
position  at  this  time.  A  year  or  two  afterwards,  however, 
he  published  a  book,  in  which  he  strongly  attacked  the  opin- 
ions held  by  Madame  Guvon,  and  others  who  entertainpd 


OF   MADAME    GOYON.  135 

similar  sentiments,  or  rather  their  opinions  as  he  understood 
themr  * 

15.  A  few  days  after  this  interview  with  Nicole,  she  saw 
his  friend,  to  whose  acquaintance  he  had  recommended  her, 
Monsieur  Boileau,  a  brother  of  the  distinguished  French  poet 
and  satirist  of  the  same  name.  "  He  introduced  the  sub- 
ject," she  says,  "  of  my  little  book  on  Prayer.  I  told  him 
the  state  of  mind  in  which  I  wrote  it,  and  also  the  inward 
dispositions  in  which  I  then  was.  He  remarked  to  me,  that 
he  was  entirely  persuaded  of  the  sincerity  of  my  intentions  ; 
but  he  said  that  tjie  book  was  liable  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
some  persons  who  might  misapply  and  pervert  it.  I  asked 
him  the  favor  to  point  out  the  passages  in  it,  which  caused 
this  anxiety ;  to  which  he  assented.  And,  accordingly,  we 
looked  over  the  book  together ;  and  when  he  came  to  such 
passages,  I  gave  explanations,  which  seemed  to  satisfy  him. 
We  went  through  with  the  whole  book,  delaying  more  or 
less  upon  the  places ;  while  I  endeavored  on  my  part  to  illus- 
trate them  from  my  own  thoughts  and  experiences  in  a 
simple  manner. 

"  When  we  had  gotten  through,  he  said  to  me,  '  Madame, 
all  that  is  wanted,  in  order  to  prevent  misapprehensions  in 
relation  to  your  book,  is  a  little  more  in  the  way  of  explana- 
tion.' And  he  pressed  me  very  much  to  write  something 
additional  and  explanatory,  which  I  agreed  to  do.  A  few 
days  after,  I  completed  what  he  wished  me  to  write,  and 
sent  it  to   him  for  his   examination ;   and  he  seemed  to  be 


*  The  title  of  his  work,  which  was  the  last  one  he  wrote,  was  this : 
Refutation  des  principales  erreurs  des  Quie'tistes,  contenues  dans  les  litres 
censure's  par  Vordonnance  de  Monseigneur,  VArcheveque  de  Paris,  [de  Harlai,] 
du  16  Octobre,  1694.  —  For  some  remarks  on  this  work,  see  an  interest- 
ing letter  from  La  Combe  to  Madame  Guyon,  printed  in  the  Works  of 
Bossuet,  Paris  ed.  1836  ;  also  some  remarks  of  Madame  Guyon  her- 
self, in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Part  Third  of  her  Life. 


136  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

well  satisfied.     I  revised  it  once  or  twice ;  and  lie  urged  mo 
much  to  print  it." 

1 6.  The  small  work  which  originated  under  these  circum- 
stances, was  not  printed  at  this  time,  but  sometime  after- 
wards. It  is  entitled,  A  concise  Apology  for  the  Short  and 
Easy  Method  of  Prayer ;  and  is  usually  printed,  in  the  col- 
lection of  her  spiritual  works,  in  connection  with  the  larger 
treatise,  which  it  is  especially  designed  to  elucidate.  Al- 
though concise,  it  is  a  work  which  contains  much  valuable 
instruction  of  a  spiritual  nature,  and  is  worthy  of  special 
attention. 

17.  It  was  under  these  circumstances,  constantly  laboring 
in  the  cause  of  religion,  blessed  in  those  labors  continually 
to  an  extent  seldom  witnessed,  listened  to  with  great  atten- 
tion by  the  ignorant,  and  criticised  or  attacked  by  the 
learned,  that  her  name  came  once  more  into  general  notice, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  sympathized  in  her 
views,  excited  a  general  hostility.  The  outcries  against  her 
were  loud,  deep,  and  revengeful.  Her  enemies,  seeing  the 
difficulty  of  quenching  the  light  of  her  piety  by  any  ordinary 
means,  resorted  to  the  most  dreadful  measures.  Attempts 
were  made,  through  the  instrumentality  of  one  of  her  ser- 
vants who  seems  to  have  been  bribed  for  that  purpose,  to 
put  her  to  death  by  poison.  She  refers  to  this  painful  inci- 
dent very  briefly. 

"  One  of  my  servants,"  she  says,  "  was  prevailed  upon  to 
give  me  poison.  After  taking  it,  I  suffered  such  exquisite 
pains,  that,  without  speedy  succor,  I  should  have  died  in  a 
few  hours.  The  servant  immediately  ran  away,  and  I  have 
never  seen  him  since.  At  the  time,  it  did  not  occur  to  me 
that  I  was  poisoned,  until  my  physicians  came  in,  and  in- 
formed me  that  such  was  the  case.  My  servant  was  the 
immediate  agent  in  this  wicked  attempt ;  but  I  am  in  pos- 
session  of  circumstances  which  go  strongly  to  show,  that 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  137 

others  originated  it.    I  suffered  from  it  for  seven  years  after- 
wards." 

18.  So  great  was  the  excitement  against  her  at  this  time, 
that  she  thought  it  prudent  to  leave  her  house,  and  to  remain 
in  entire  concealment  for  some  months.  No  one  knew  where 
she  was,  except  Monsieur  Fouquet,  the  uncle  of  the  Count 
de  Vaux,  her  son-in-law.  Of  Fouquet  we  have  already  had 
occasion  to  speak.  He  was  a  man  of  eminent  piety,  and 
seems  to  have  been  desirous  of  devoting  himself  to  God  in 
all  things.  The  marriage  of  his  nephew  with  Mademoiselle 
Guyon  opened  the  way  for  forming  an  acquaintance  with 
the  mother,  with  whose  character  and  history,  and  probably 
with  her  writings,  he  wan  previously  acquainted.  He  knew 
where  she  was  concealed;  obtained,  by  authority  which 
he  had  from  her,  the  funds  that  were  necessary  for  her 
support;  and  kept  her  advised  of  the  movements  of  her 
enemies. 

Madame  Guyon  hoped,  that,  by  retiring  i*r  a  time  altogeth- 
er from  notice,  there  would  be  some  cessation  vj  the  attacks 
which  were  constantly  made  upon  her.  But  she  -was  mis- 
taken. As  soon  as  she  disappeared,  the  report  was  circu- 
lated, that  she  had  gone  into  the  provinces,  for  the  purpose 
of  disseminating  her  doctrines  there.  So  that  the  fact  of  her 
retirement,  with  such  an  interpretation  put  upon  it,  tended 
rather  to  increase  than  to  allay  the  ferment.  Under  these 
circumstances  she  thought  it  best  to  return  to  her  home,  and 
to  enter  again  upon  the  discharge  of  her  ordinary  duties, 
whatever  might  be  the  consequences. 

19.  Soon  after  this,  an  event  occurred,  which  was  calcu- 
lated to  add  to  her  trials.  It  was  the  sickness  and  death  of 
her  friend  and  relative,  Monsieur  Fouquet.  In  this  good 
man  she  found  one  who  not  only  sympathized  in  her  reli- 
gious views  and  feelings,  but  aided  her  much  as  an  adviser 
in  her  affairs,  and  as  a  personal  friend.  Madame  Guyon 
VOL.  II.  12* 


138  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

seems  to  have  had  entire  confidence,  not  only  in  his  religious 
experience,  but  in  his  practical  prudence  and  in  his  friendly 
dispositions.  And  in  consequence  of  the  family  connection 
now  existing  between  them,  she  could  consult  him,  and  re- 
ceive his  advice  and  assistance,  without  being  subjected  to 
the  suspicions  and  misinterpretations  which  might  have 
attended  the  presence  and  aid  of  other  well-disposed  per- 
sons. His  last  moments  were  moments  of  triumphant  peace. 
The  following  letter  was  written  to  him  by  Madame  Guyon, 
a  short  time  before  his  death :  — 

"  To  Monsieur  Fouquet.* 

"  I  have  thought  for  some  time,  that  you  would  not 
survive  your  present  sickness.  It  has  even  seemed  to  me,' 
that  it  would  not  be  possible  for  you  to  live  beyond  the  ap- 
proaching celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrament. 

"  Regarding,  theref^e,  your  departure  as  near  at  hand,  I 
cannot  help  savins'  tnat>  in  losing  you,  I  lose  one  of  my  most 
faithful  friend;  perhaps  I  may  add,  that  I  lose  the  only 
friend,'  in  whom,  under  existing  circumstances,  I  can  repose 
with  entire  confidence  in  all  things.  I  feel  my  loss ;  but  the 
sorrow  which  I  experience  does  not  prevent  my  rejoicing 
in  the  happiness  which  is  yours.  It  is  not  your  situation 
which  is  to  be  regretted,  but  rather  that  of  those  who  are 
left  behind.  God,  who  has  made  us  one  in  spirit,  has  an- 
nounced the  hour  of  separation.  May  the  blessing  of  our 
Divine  Master  rest  upon  you  ! 

"Go,  then,  happy  spirit;  —  go,  and  receive  the  recom- 
pense reserved  for  all  those  who  have  given  themselves  to 
the  Lord  in  a  love  which  is  pure.  As  we  have  been  united 
in  time,  may  we  be  united  in  eternity.     Let  your  parting 

*  See  Lettres  Chretiennes  et  Spirituelles  sur  divers  Sujets  qui  re- 
gardent  la  Vie  Interieure.     Tome  i.  p.  646. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  139 

prayer  be  for  her  who  is  left  behind,  and  for  the  spiritual 
children  whom  the  Lord  has  given  her,  that  in  all  time,  and 
in  all  things,  they  may  be  faithful  to  his  adorable  will. 

"Farewell; — and,  as  you  ascend  to  the  arms  of  Him 
who  has  prepared  a  place  for  you,  be  an  ambassador  for  me, 
and  tell  him  that  my  soul  loves  him. 

"  Jeanne  M.  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Efforts  made  in  her  behalf.  She  objects  to  the  course  which  her 
friends  propose  to  take.  Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux.  Remarks 
on  his  character  and  position.  He  becomes  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
gress of  the  new  doctrine.  Seeks  an  interview  with  Madame 
Guyon  at  Paris  in  September,  1693.  Second  interview  on  the 
30th  of  Jan.  1694,.  Some  account  of  the  conversation  which 
passed  between  them.  Effect  of  it  upon  Madame  Guyon.  Cor- 
respondence between  them.     Attacked  with  a  fever. 

In  this  state  of  things,  some  of  the  friends  of  Madame 
Guyon,  among  whom  I  think  we  could  not  mistake  in  in- 
cluding the  Dukes  Beauvilliers  and  Chevreuse,  undertook 
some  measures  in  her  behalf.  Fearing  either  some  acts  of 
personal  violence,  or  some  impressions  on  the  minds  of  those 
in  authority,  which  might  perhaps  lead  to  a  renewed  impris- 
onment, they  drew  up  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  king,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  give  a  correct  account  of  the  inci- 
dents of  her  life  and  of  her  motives  of  action,  with  a  view  to 
vindicate  and  to  protect  her.  This  memorial  was  drawn  np 
with  the  concurrence  and  approbation  of  Madame  de  Main- 
tenon,  who  thought  it  proper,  before  it  was  employed  in  the 
way  which  was  intended,  to  show  it  to  Madame  Guyon. 

2.  "  This  paper,"  says  Madame  Guyon,  "  although  it  was 
a  pleasing  evidence  of  the  kindness  of  those  who  had  a  share 
in  framing  it,  gave  me  some  uneasiness.  I  had  some  doubts 
whether  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  I  should  be  protected 
and  vindicated  in  that  manner.    I  was  jealous  of  myself,  lest 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  141 

I  should  be  found  improperly  resting  upon  a  human  arm, 
or  too  eager  to  be  relieved  from  that  burden  of  trial,  which 
God's  wisdom  had  seen  fit  to  impose.  Such  were  my  feel- 
ings on  this  point,  that  I  earnestly  requested  my  friends  not 
to  take  this  course ;  but  to  leave  me  to  the  natural  develop- 
ments of  providence,  to  be  vindicated  or  to  suffer,  as  my 
heavenly  Father  might  see  best.  They  respected  my  wishes ; 
and  the  memorial  was  accordingly  suppressed." 

3.  It  was  in  connection  with  these  circumstances,  and 
such  as  have  been  detailed  in  the  last  chapter,  that  the  new 
spirituality,  as  it  was  sometimes  termed,  first  particularly 
arrested  the  attention  of  Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux.  To 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  ecclesiastical  history,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  Bossuet  was  at  this  time  con- 
fessedly the  head  of  the  French  church.  And  if  we  esti- 
mate him  chiefly  by  his  intellectual  strength,  I  think  we 
may  well  say,  that  he  deserved  to  be  so.  Possessed  of  vast 
learning  and  not  greater  in  the  amount  of  his  knowledge 
than  he  was  in  the  powers  which  originated  and  con- 
trolled it,  he  brought  to  the  investigation  of  religious  sub- 
jects, whether  theological  or  practical,  the  combined  lights 
and  ornaments  of  research,  of  reasoning,  and  of  rich  imagina- 
tion. 

4.  By  his  great  work,  entitled,  A  History  of  the  Varia- 
tions of  the  Doctrines  of  the  Reformed  Churches,*  in  which 
he  had  subjected  the  doctrines  of  Luther  and  of  the  other 
Protestant  reformers  to  a  severe  scrutiny,  he  had  not  only 
acquired  a  splendid  reputation,  but  had  placed  himself  in  a 
position  which  led  him  to  be  regarded  by  Catholics  as  em- 
phatically the  defender  of  the  faith.  This  reputation,  which 
might  well  fill  any  ordinary  amount  of  secular  or  of  ecclesi- 
astical ambition,  was  so  dear  to  him,  that  he  had  for  many 

*  Histoire  des  Variation?  des  Efflises  Protestantes. 


142  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

years,  as  if  by  the  strong  instinct  of  habit,  fixed  his  wither- 
ing eye  on  the  slightest  heretical  deviations.  He  knew  well 
what  was  going  on  in  France.  But  he  who  had  broken  the 
spear  with  the  strongest  intellects  of  the  world,  felt  some 
reluctance  to  entering  the  lists  with  a  woman. 

It  seemed  to  him  impossible  that  Madame  Guyon,  what- 
ever might  be  her  talents  and  personal  influence,  could 
produce  an  impression,  either  in  Paris  or  elsewhere,  which 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  church.  And  if  it  were  so,  was 
it  not  enough,  that  d'Aranthon  and  Father  Innocentius,  men 
of  distinguished  ability  and  of  great  influence,  had  already, 
in  the  early  and  distant  places  of  her  influence,  set  in  motion 
measures  of  opposition ;  measures  which  were  sustained  at 
Paris  by  the  efforts  of  La  Mothe  and  de  Harlai,  of  Nicole 
and  Boileau,  aided  by  a  multitude  of  subordinate  agen- 
cies? 

5.  But  the  result  did  not  correspond  with  his  anticipa- 
tions. If  such  distinguished  men  as  the  Dukes  of  Beau- 
villiers  and  Chevreuse,  and  more  than  all  if  such  a  man 
as  Fenelon,  on  whom  the  hopes  of  France  had  fastened 
as  its  burning  and  shining  light,  had  come  under  this 
influence,  to  what  would  these  things  lead  ?  It  seems 
never  to  have  occurred  to  him,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
might  be  in  all  this.  He  is  not  wise  who  thinks  lightly 
of  the  influence  of  a  woman  who  has  the  great  intel- 
lectual powers,  the  accomplished  manners,  and  the  serious 
and  deep  piety  of  Madame  Guyon.  But  suppose  it  to  have 
been  otherwise.  Suppose  her  to  have  been  fanatical  in  feel- 
ing and  weak  in  judgment,  as  her  enemies  chose  to  represent 
her.  Is  it  not  true,  that  God  has  chosen  the  weak  things  of 
the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty  ?  Has  he 
not  declared,  and  has  he  not  sustained  the  declaration  by  the 
history  of  spiritual  movements  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  that 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  143 

he  has  selected  "  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought 
things  that  are  "  ? 

6.  God  will  so  work,  he  will  employ  such  instrumentality  ; 
and  under  such  circumstances,  as  to  glorify  himself.  It  was 
not  Madame  Guyon,  but  God  in  her,  who  produced  these 
rasults.  She  had  undergone  those  deeply  searching  and 
purifying  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  consume  the 
pride  and  power,  "the  hay  and  the  stubble"  of  nature, 
and  leave  the  subject  of  it  nothing  in  himself.  When  she 
thought  of  herself,  she  could  find  no  term  which  so  exactly 
expressed  her  situation  as  the  word  Nothing :  —  "I  am 
nothing."  But  it  was  a  favorite  idea  with  her  also,  that  the 
All  of  God  —  his  presence,  wisdom,  and  power  —  dwells, 
more  than  anywhere  else,  in  the  nothing  of  the  creature. 
This,  which  even  Bossuet  seems  not  fully  to  have  understood, 
was  the  source  of  her  influence. 

7.  The  case  of  Fenelon,  in  particular,  troubled  him  ; 
Fenelon,  whose  talents  he  knew,  whose  friendship  he  val- 
ued, and  of  whose  piety  and  influence  he  had  the  highest 
hopes.  He  determined,  therefore,  though  with  some  re- 
luctance, to  put  forth  his  own  great  strength,  and  to  risk  his 
own  splendid  reputation,  in  the  attempt  to  extinguish  this 
new  heresy.  But  he  had  known  Madame  Guyon  only  by 
report ;  and  he  thought  it  due  to  charity  and  truth,  to  form 
a  personal  acquaintance  as  a  means  of  more  distinctly  ascer- 
taining her  views.  He  accordingly  visited  her,  for  the  first 
time,  at  her  residence  in  Paris,  in  company  with  the  Duke 
de  Chevreuse,  who  was  an  acquaintance  and  friend  of  Ma 
dame  Guyon. 

This  interview  appears  to  have  taken  place  in  September, 
1693.  The  conversation  was  at  first  of  a  general  character. 
In  the  course  of  what  passed  between  them,  Bossuet  re- 
marked, that  he  had  formerly  read,  with  a  degree  of  satis- 
faction, her  Treatise  on  Prayer,  and  also  her  Commentary 


144  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

on  the  Canticles.  As  reference  was  thus  made  to  her  writ- 
ings, the  Duke  of  Chevreuse,  who  remained  during  this 
interview,  observing  probably  a  copy  of  it  in  the  room, 
directed  the  attention  of  Bossuet  to  the  work  of  Madame 
Guyon,  entitled,  The  Torrents.  He  immediately  took  the 
work,  and  cast  his  eye  rapidly  over  some  passages.  When 
he  had  looked  at  it  a  few  moments  in  this  manner,  he  re- 
marked, without  condemning  any  thing,  that  there  were  some 
things  in  it,  which  required  explanation. 

In  the  course  of  this  interview,  Bossuet  made  a  number 
of  remarks  on  the  necessity  and  reality  of  an  inward  and 
spiritual  life,  which  were  highly  gratifying  to  Madame 
Guyon.  The  interview  terminated  with  a  proposition  on 
the  part  of  Madame  Guyon,  which  was  accepted  by  Bossuet, 
that  he  should  obtain  and  examine  at  his  leisure  all  her 
writings,  and  make  known  more  definitely  his  opinions  upon 
them. 

8.  A  second  meeting  took  place  some  four  or  five  months 
afterwards.  In  the  interval  between  them,  the  Duke  of 
Chevreuse,  with  the  permission  of  Madame  Guyon,  and  in 
order  to  give  him  a  full  view  of  her  history  and  character, 
put  into  the  hands  of  Bossuet  the  manuscript  of  her  Auto- 
biography. He  read  it  carefully,  and  politely  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  duke,  expressive  of  the  interest  he  felt  in  it. 

All  her  printed  works  also  were  submitted  to  him,  so  that 
when,  after  some  months,  they  had  the  opportunity  of  meet- 
ing again,  Bossuet  felt  prepared  to  state  to  her  some  of  the 
objections  which  he  felt  to  her  views,  as  he  understood 
them. 

9.  This  second  interview  took  place  on  the  thirtieth  of 
January,  1694.  At  the  request  of  Bossuet,  both  this  and 
his  previous  interview  were  kept  as  secret  as  possible. 
The  reason  he  gave  was,  that  the  relations  existing  between 
him  and  the  archbishop  of  Paris,  who  was  probably  jealous 


OF   MADAME   GUYON.  145 

>f  his  superior  knowledge  and  reputation,  were  such  as  to 
render  it  desirable.  At  his  request,  also,  he  met  her,  not  at 
her  own  house,  but  at  the  house  of  one  of  his  own  friends, 
me  Abbe  Jannon,  who  lived  in  the  street  Cassette,  near  the 
Convent  or  House  of  the  religious  association,  called  the 
Daughters  of  the  Holy  Sacrament,  The  conference  con- 
tinued during  the  greater  part  of  a  day.  The  Duke  of 
Chevreuse  was  present,  and  probably  some  other  persons. 

10.  A  small  part  of  the  conversation  is  given  by  Madame 
Guyon  in  her  Autobiography.  It  would  have  been  pleas- 
ing, if  she  had  given  the  whole  ;  but  what  is  wanting  can,  I 
think,  be  found  and  made  up,  in  a  considerable  degree,  from 
her  subsequent  correspondence  with  Bossuet,  and  from  her 
work  entitled,  A  concise  Apology  for  the  Short  Method  of 
Prayer.  With  these  aids  I  have  ventured  to  give  the  fol- 
lowing conversation,  as  expressive  of  the  substance  of  what 
passed  between  thein,  without  attempting  to  give  the  precise 
terms  of  it.  It  is  a  conversation  rendered  remarkable  by 
the  nature  of  the  topics,  and  by  the  relation  of  the  parties ; 
and  I  think  it  should  not  be  forgotten  here,  that,  while 
Madame  Guyon  stood  foremost  among  women  of  intellect 
as  well  as  piety,  Bossuet  was  at  that  time,  as  we  have 
already  remarked,  the  most  distinguished  of  the  theologians 
of  Europe. 

11.  Bossuet.  The  doctrines  which  you  advance,  madame, 
involve  the  fact  of  an  inward  experience  above  the  common 
experience  of  Christians,  even  those  who  have  a  high  repu- 
tation for  piety. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  hope,  sir,  it  will  not  be  regarded  as 
an  offence,  if  I  indulge  the  hope  and  belief,  that  a  higher 
experience,  even  a  much  higher  one,  is  practicable  than  that 
which  we  commonly  see. 

Bossuet.  Certainly  not.  But  when  we  see  persons  going 
so  far  as  to  speak  of  a  love  to  God  without  any  regard  to 

vol.  II.  13 


146  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

self,  of  the  entire  sanctification  of  the  heart,  and  of  divine 
union,  have  we  not  reason  to  fear,  that  there  is  some  illusion  ? 
We  are  told,  that  there  is  "  none  that  doeth  good  and  sinneth 
not." 

Madame  Guyon.  There  is  no  one,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Saviour,  who  has  not  sinned  ;  and  no  one,  who  may  not 
be  described  as  a  sinner.  There  is  no  one  who  is  not  now, 
and  will  not  always  be,  entirely  unworthy.  Even  when  there 
is  a  heart  which  divine  grace  has  corrected  and  has  rendered 
entirely  upright,  there  may  still  be  errors  of  perception  and 
judgment,  (involuntarily  it  is  true,  but  resulting  from  a  pre- 
vious state  of  sinfulness,)  which  Avill  involve  relatively  wrong 
and  injurious  doing,  and  render  it  necessary,  therefore,  to 
apply  continually  to  the  blood  of  Christ.  But,  while  I  read- 
ily concede  all  this,  I  cannot  forget,  that  we  are  required  to 
be  like  Christ ;  and  that  the  Saviour  himself  has  laid  the 
injunction  upon  us  to  love  God  with  all  our  heart,  and  to  be 
perfect  as  our  heavenly  Father  is  perfect.  My  own  experi- 
ence has  added  strength  to  my  convictions. 

Bossuet.  Personal  experience  is  an  important  teacher. 
And  as  you  have  thus  made  a  reference  to  what  you  have 
known  experimentally,  you  will  not  think  it  amiss,  madame, 
if  I  ask  the  question,  whether  you  regard  yourself,  as  public 
report  asserts  to  be  the  case,  as  being  the  subject  of  this  high 
religious  state,  and  as  possessing  a  holy  heart  ? 

Madame  Guyon.  If  you  understand  by  a  holy  heart,  one 
which  is  wholly  consecrated  and  devoted  to  God,  I  see  no 
reason  why  I  should  deny  the  grace  of  God,  which  has 
wrought  in  me,  as  I  think,  this  great  salvation. 

Bossuet.  The  Saviour,  madame,  speaks  in  high  terms  of 
the  man  who  went  up  into  the  temple,  and  smote  upon  his 
bosom,  and  said,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 

Madame  Guyon.  It  is  very  true,  sir,  that  this  man  was 
a  sinner ;  but  it  is  also  true,  that  he  prayed  that  God  would 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  147 

be  merciful  to  him ;  and  God,  who  is  a  hearer  of  prayer,  did 
not  mock  either  his  sorrows  or  his  petitions,  but  granted  his 
request.  If  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  of  myself,  I  think  I 
may  say,  that  I  too  have  uttered  the  same  prayer ;  I  too 
have  smitten  upon  my  bosom  in  the  deep  anguish  of  a  rebel- 
lious and  convicted  spirit.  I  can  never  forget  it.  Months 
and  years  witnessed  the  tears  which  I  shed ;  but  deliverance 
came.  My  wounds  were  healed  ;  my  tears  were  dried  up  ; 
and  my  soul  was  crowned,  and  I  think  I  can  say  with  thank- 
fulness, is  now  crowned,  with  purity  and  peace. 

Bossuet.  There  are  but  few  persons  who  can  express 
themselves  so  strongly. 

Madame  Ckiyon.  I  regret  that  it  is  so  ;  and  the  more  so, 
because  it  is  an  evidence  of  the  want  of  faith.  Men  pray 
to  God  to  be  merciful,  without  believing  that  he  is  willing  to 
be  merciful ;  they  pray  for  deliverance  from  sin  and  for  full 
sanctification,  without  believing  that  provision  is  made  for  it  j 
and  thus  insult  God  in  the  very  prayer  which  they  offer. 
Can  it  be  possible,  that  one  like  yourself,  who  has  studied 
the  Scriptures  so  long  and  so  profitably,  can  doubt  of  the 
rich  provisions  of  the  gospel  in  this  matter ;  and  deny,  in 
the  long  catalogue  of  the  saints  of  the  Catholic  church,  that 
any  of  them  have  been  sanctified  ? 

Bossuet.  I  am  not  disposed,  madame,  to  deny,  that  the 
doctrine  of  sanctification,  when  properly  understood,  is  a 
doctrine  of  the  Catholic  church.  I  cannot  forget  the  rich 
examples  which  are  found  in  a  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  in  a 
St.  Theresa,  and  in  the  celebrated  Catharines.  But  I  can- 
not deny,  that  I  am  slow  to  admit  the  existence  of  this  great 
blessing  in  individual  cases.  The  evidence  should  be  very 
marked.  This,  you  will  admit,  is  a  proper  precaution.  And 
conceding  that  the  promises  of  God  are  adequate  to  these 
great  results,  and  admitting  the  general  truth  of  the  doctrine 
of  sanctification,  I  must  still  offer  inquiries  which  involve 


148  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

very  serious  doubts  in  relation  to  some  of  its  aspects,  as  they 
are  presented  in  your  writings. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  have  always  been  ready,  sir,  to  con- 
fess my  ignorance  ;  and  having  no  system  to  maintain,  and 
no  object  to  secure,  separate  from  the  doing  of  God's  will 
and  the  manifestation  of  his  glory,  I  have  no  reluctance  in 
submitting  what  I  have  said  to  your  correction. 

Bossuet.  In  looking  over  the  manuscript,  which  gives 
some  account  of  your  own  personal  history,  in  which  I  have 
generally  been  interested  and  satisfied,  I  was  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  see,  that,  in  a  certain  passage,  you  speak  of  your- 
self as  the  woman  of  the  Apocalypse. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  recollect  that  there  is  something  of 
this  kind.  As  I  read  the  passage  in  the  Apocalypse,  which 
speaks  of  the  woman  who  fled  into  the  wilderness,  I  must 
confess,  as  I  thought  of  myself  as  driven  from  place  to  place 
for  announcing  the  doctrines  of  the  Lord,  it  did  seem  to  me, 
that  the  expressions  might  be  applied,  not  as  prophetic  of 
me,  but  as  illustrative  of  my  condition.  There  are  some 
things  in  the  account  of  my  life,  which  probably  are  of  no 
consequence,  and  would  not  have  been  written,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  urgency  of  my  confessor,  who  required  every 
thing  to  be  inserted. 

Bossuet.  I  am  willing  to  accept  your  explanation  in  this 
particular  entirely,  and  will  proceed  now  to  some  things 
which  seem  to  me  to  be  essential.  It  is  not  merely  my  ob- 
ject to  criticise,  but,  in  part  at  least,  to  obtain  explana- 
tions, in  order  that  I  may  understand  the  subject  more  fully 
myself,  and  that  I  may  know,  in  the  situation  in  which  I  am 
placed,  what  course  it  is  proper  to  take.  You  will  excuse 
me,  therefore,  for  asking  in  a  proper  spirit  of  inquiry,  what 
you  mean  by  being  in  the  state,  which  is  variously  denomi- 
nated the  state  of  holiness,  of  pure  love,  and  of  Christian 
perfection. 


OF   MADAME   GUYON.  149 

Madame  Guyon.  This  question  might,  I  suppose,  be  an- 
swered in  various  ways.  But  as  some  of  these  terms,  in 
their  application  to  human  nature,  are  in  some  degree  odious, 
and  are  at  least  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  I  will  say  here, 
that  I  understand,  by  being  in  the  state  to  which  you  refer, 
much  the  same  thing  as  I  understand  by  being  in  the  state 
of  entire  self-renunciation.  He  who  is  nothing,  he  who  is 
lost  to  himself,  he  who  is  dead  to  his  own  wisdom  and  his 
own  strength,  and  who,  in  the  renouncement  of  his  own 
life,  lives  in  God's  life,  may  properly  be  called  a  holy  man  ; 
and,  in  a  mitigated  sense  of  the  terms,  may  perhaps  be 
called  a  perfect  man.  True  lowliness  of  spirit,  as  I  have 
now  explained  it,  accompanied  by  such  faith  in  God  as  will 
supply  the  nothingness  of  the  creature  from  the  divine  ful- 
ness, involves  the  leading  idea  of  what,  in  experimental 
writers,  is  denominated  Christian  perfection.  Perhaps  some 
other  name  would  express  it  as  well. 

Bossuet.  I  am  glad  to  find,  madame,  that  you  entertain 
such  views  of  Christian  perfection  as  are  consistent  with 
lowliness  of  spirit.  The  Saviour  himself  says,  "  He,  that  is 
least  among  you  all,  the  same  shall  be  great"  And  the  Apostle 
to  the  Gentiles,  eminent  as  he  was  in  sanctity,  describes  him- 
self as  the  "  least  of  the  apostles"  *  I  believe  it  is  true,  that 
eminently  holy  persons  feel  their  dependence  and  nothing- 
ness more  entirely  than  others. 

But  is  it  a  mark,  madame,  of  Christian  lowliness  to  disre- 
gard the  principles  and  practices  which  have  been  sanctioned 
by  the  wisdom  and  piety  of  many  ages  ?  In  your  Short 
Method  of  Prayer,  there  are  some  expressions  which  seem 
to  imply,  that  the  austerities  and  mortifications  which  are 
practised  in  the  Catholic  church  are  not  necessary. 

Madame  Guyon.     I  admit  that  my  views  and  practices 


*  Luke  ix.  48.     1  Cor.  xv.  9. 
vol.it.  13*. 


150  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

differ  in  this  particular  from  those  of  some  other  persons.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  do  now,  with  the  views  which  I  at  present 
have  of  the  power  and  the  applications  of  faith,  attach  that 
importance  to  austerities  and  practices  of  physical  mortifica- 
tion, which  I  once  did.  My  view  now  is  this.  Physical 
sufferings  and  mortifications,  which  tend  to  bring  the  appe- 
tites into  subjection,  and  to  restore  us  in  that  respect  to 
harmony  with  God,  are  of  great  value  ;  they  are  a  part  of 
God's  discipline,  which  he  has  wisely  instituted  and  rendered 
operative  in  the  present  life :  but  then  they  should  not  be 
self-sought  or  self-inflicted ;  but  should  be  received  and  sub- 
mitted to,  as  they  come  in  the  course  of  God's  providence. 
In  other  words,  crosses  are  good ;  our  rebellious  nature  needs 
them  ;  not  those,  however,  which  are  of  merely  human  origin, 
but  those  which  God  himself  makes  and  imposes.* 

Bossuet.  I  am  doubtful,  whether  your  views  on  this  sub- 
ject ought  to  be  considered  satisfactory.  But  we  will  leave 
them  for  the  present,  to  be  further  examined,  perhaps,  at  some 
future  time. 

I  might  ask  again,  Is  it  consistent  with  Christian  humility, 
with  true  lowliness  of  spirit,  to  lay  down  the  principle,  as  I 
find  you  have  done  in  the  work  entitled  The  Torrents, 
that  souls  in  the  highest  religious  state  may  approach  the 
Sacramental  Communion,  and  may  partake  of  the  sacred 
element  which  is  offered  in  it,  without  special  preparation  ? 

Madame  Guyon.  I  am  entirely  confident,  sir,  that  the 
highest  religious  experience  is  not  opposed,  and  cannot  by 
any  possibility  be  opposed,  to  the  truest  humility.     I  say 

*  See,  in  connection  with  the  topics  introduced  in  this  chapter,  and  in 
addition  to  the  statements  made  in  the  Life  of  Madame  Guyon,  the 
Treatise,  entitled,  Coicrte  Apologie  du  Moyen  Court ;  also  the  work  of 
Bossuet,  entitled,  Instruction  sur  les  Etats  d'Oraison.  See  also  a  letter 
of  Monsieur  Pirot,  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  printed  in  the  works  of 
Bossuet,  vol.  xii. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  151 

further,  that  I  fully  appreciate  the  great  importance  of  a 
careful  and  thorough  preparation  for  the  occasion  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist.  But  still  it  does  seem  to  me,  that  a  soul, 
wholly  devoted  to  God  and  living  in  the  divine  presence, 
moment  by  moment,  if  it  should  be  so  situated  as  no£  to 
enjoy  the  ordinary  season  of  preparatory  retirement  and 
recollection,  would  still  be  in  a  state  to  partake  of  the  sacra- 
mental element,  and  would  be  accepted  in  it.  I  am  aware 
that  it  is  difficult  for  those  who  are  not  in  this  religious  state, 
to  conceive  of  what  I  now  say ;  but  their  inability  of  per- 
ception does  not  alter  the  fact,  if  the  fact  be  such  as  I 
suppose  it  to  be. 

Bossuet.  If  you  design,  madame,  to  limit  the  remark 
made  in  The  Torrents,  to  some  extreme  case  of  this  kind, 
it  will  be  regarded,  I  suppose,  as  less  objectionable  than  it 
would  otherwise  be.  I  have  no  other  desire  or  object  than 
that  of  ascertaining  what  is  true.  I  repeat,  that  I  do  not 
object  to  the  doctrine  of  Christian  Perfection,  or  of  Pure 
Love,  or  whatever  other  name  may  be  given  to  it,  when 
considered  in  its  general  form ;  but  I  cannot  deny,  that  I 
have  serious  objections  to  particular  views  and  particular 
forms  of  expression  which  I  sometimes  find  connected  with 
it.  I  find,  from  time  to  time,  in  your  works,  modes  of  ex- 
pression which  strike  me  as  peculiar.  Without  delaying, 
therefore,  on  the  general  features  of  the  doctrine,  I  will  take 
the  liberty  to  direct  your  attention  to  a  number  of  things  which 
characterize  it,  in  part,  as  it  appears  in  your  writings.  I  will 
illustrate  what  I  mean.  I  find,  in  expression  at  least,  what 
strikes  me  as  very  peculiar,  that  you  make  God  identical 
with  events.  You  say,  in  nearly  so  many  words,  particularly 
in  the  work  entitled  the  Torrents,  that  to  the  sanctified  soul 
every  thing  which  exists,  with  the  exception  of  sin,  is  God. 

Madame  Guyon.  In  reply  to  this  remark,  it  seems  to  me 
proper  to  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  doctrines  of 


152  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

sanctification  are  sometimes  erroneously  or  imperfectly  rej 
resented  in  consequence  of  the  imperfection  of  language. 
As  they  are  the  doctrines  of  a  life  which  is  almost  unknown 
to  the  world,  it  is  but  natural  that  they  should  have  no  ade- 
quate terms  and  phrases ;  so  that  we  readily  admit,  that  we 
express  ourselves  awkwardly  and  with  difficulty.  Is  it  un- 
reasonable, under  these  circumstances,  to  ask  the  favor  of  a 
candid  and  charitable  interpretation  ? 

Bossuet.  I  admit,  madame,  the  existence  of  the  difficulty 
to  which  you  refer,  and  think  it  should  be  considered. 

Madame  Guyon.  With  this  concession  on  your  part,  I 
proceed  to  admit  on  mine,  that  the  assertion,  taken  just  as  it 
stands,  namely,  that  every  event  is  God,  is  not  true ;  even 
when  made  with  the  exception  of  those  things  which  are 
sinful.  But  I  still  affirm,  that  the  expression  has  a  definite 
and  important  meaning  to  the  truly  sanctified  soul.  Such  a 
soul,  in  a  manner  and  degree  which  ordinary  Christians  do 
not  well  understand,  recognizes  the  fact,  that  God  sustains  a 
definite  relation  to  every  thing  which  takes  place.  God  is  in 
events  ;  and,  if  he  is  the  centre  and  controller  of  the  uni- 
verse, he  cannot  be  out  of  them.  The  sanctified  soul  not 
only  speculatively  recognizes  the  relation  of  God  to  events, 
but  feels  it ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  brought  into  a  practical  and 
realized  communion  with  God  through  them.  You  will  find 
this  form  of  expression  in  the  writings  of  Catharine  of  Genoa. 
She  says,  that  every  thing  which  took  place,  was  God  to  her ; 
because  she  found,  in  a  sense  which  the  world  did  not  and 
could  not  understand,  that  God  was  in  every  thing. 

Bossuet.  I  notice  also,  as  another  illustration  of  the  ob- 
jectionable parts  of  your  writings  to  which  I  have  just  now 
referred,  that  you  sometimes  speak  in  them,  as  if  the  will  of 
God,  as  well  as  outward  events,  were  identical  with  God 
himself.  I  think,  madame,  you  will  perceive  on  reflection, 
that  such  statements,  whatever  may  be  said  in  defence  of 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  153 

them,  are  likely  to  be  misunderstood,  and  that,  in  point 
of  fact,  they  are  not  strictly  true.  I  illustrate  my  meaning 
thus.  We  always  use  the  term  man  as  including  the  whole 
of  man,  and  of  course  as  including  something  more  than  the 
mere  will  of  man.  In  like  manner  we  use  the  term  God  as 
expressive  of  the  whole  of  God,  his  intellect  and  affections, 
as  well  as  his  will.  So  that  to  speak  of  the  will  of  God, 
which  is  but  a  part,  as  identical  with  God,  which  is  the 
whole,  is  necessarily  erroneous. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  have  no  disposition,  as  I  should  not 
have  good  grounds  to  do  it,  to  object  to  the  correctness  of 
your  remark.  But  I  ought  to  say  perhaps,  and  naturally 
supposed,  that  I  should  be  understood  in  that  manner,  that, 
in  speaking  of  the  will  of  God  as  identical  with  God  himself, 
I  used  the  terms  in  a  mitigated  or  approximated,  and  not  in 
a  strict  or  absolute  sense.  But,  while  I  make  this  conces- 
sion, I  am  still  inclined  to  say,  in  this  case  as  in  the  other, 
that  practically  and  religiously  we  may  accept  the  will  of 
God  as  God  himself  not  only  without  injury,  but  with  some 
practical  benefits. 

Certain  it  is,  that  God  is  manifested  in  his  will  in  a  pecu- 
liar sense.  We  can  more  easily  make  a  distinction  between 
God  and  his  power,  and  between  God  and  his  wisdom,  than 
we  can  between  God  and  his  will.  The  will  or  purpose  of 
God,  in  a  given  case,  necessarily  includes  something  more 
than  the  mere  act  of  willing  :  it  includes  all  that  God  can 
think  in  the  case,  and  all  that  God  can  feel  in  the  case. 
And  I  must  confess,  that  the  will  of  God,  whenever  and 
wherever  made  known,  brings  out  to  my  mind  more  dis- 
tinctly and  fully  the  idea,  and  presence,  and  fulness  of  God, 
than  any  thing  else.  This  is  so  much  the  case,  that,  when- 
ever I  meet  with  the  will  of  God,  I  feel  that  I  meet  with 
God ;  whenever  I  respect  and  love  the  will  of  God,  I  feel 
that  I  respect  and  love  God ;  whenever  I  unite  with  the  will 


15u  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  God,  I  feel  that  I  unite  with  God.  So  that  practically  and 
religiously,  although  I  am  aware  that  a  difference  can  be 
made  philosophically,  God  and  the  will  of  God  are  to  me 
the  same.  He  who  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  will  of 
God,  is  as  much  in  harmony  with  God  himself,  as  it  is  pos- 
sible for  any  being  to  be.  The  very  name  of  God's  will  fills 
me  with  joy. 

Bossuet.  I  notice  that  the  terms  and  phrases  which  you 
employ,  sometimes  differ  from  those  with  which  I  frequently 
meet  in  theological  writings.  And  perhaps  the  reason, 
which  you  have  already  suggested,  explains  it  in  part.  But 
still,  I  repeat,  they  are  liable  to  be  misunderstood  and  to 
lead  into  error ;  and  hence  it  is  necessary  to  ascertain  pre- 
cisely what  is  meant.  You  sometimes  describe  what  you 
consider  the  highest  state  of  religious  experience  as  a  state 
of  passivity ;  and  at  other  times,  I  believe,  speak  of  it  as 
passively  active.  I  confess,  madame,  that  I  am  afraid  of  ex- 
pressions which  I  do  not  fully  understand,  and  which  have 
the  appearance  at  least  of  being  somewhat  at  variance 
with  man's  moral  agency  and  accountability. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  am  not  surprised,  sir,  at  your  refer- 
ence to  these  expressions  ;  and  still  I  hardly  know  what 
other  expressions  to  employ  in  the  cases  where  they  are 
particularly  applicable.  I  will  endeavor  to  explain.  In  the 
early  periods  of  man's  religious  experience,  he  is  in  what 
may  be  called  a  mixed  life;  sometimes  acting  from  God, 
but  more  frequently,  until  he  has  made  considerable  advance- 
ment, acting  from  himself.  His  inward  movement,  until  it 
becomes  corrected  by  divine  graee,  is  self-originated,  and  is 
2haracterized  by  that  perversion  which  belongs  to  every- 
thing coming  from  that  source.  But  when  the  soul,  in  the 
possession  of  pure  or  perfect  love,  is  fully  converted,  and 
every  thing  in  it  is  subordinated  to  God,  then  its  state  is 
always  either  passive,  or  passively  active. 


OF    MADAME   GUYON.  155 

.But  I  am  willing  to  concede,  which  will  perhaps  meet 
your  objection,  that  there  are  some  reasons  for  preferring 
the  term  passively  active ;  because  the  sanctified  soul,  al- 
though it  no  longer  has  a  will  of  its  own,  is  never  strictly 
inert.  Under  all  circumstances  and  in  all  cases,  there  is 
really  a  distinct  act  on  the  part  of  the  soul,  namely,  an  act 
of  cooperation  with  God;  although,  in  some  cases,  it  is  a 
simple  cooperation  with  what  now  is,  and  constitutes  the  re- 
ligious state  of  submissive  acquiescence  and  patience ;  while 
in  others  it  is  a  cooperation  with  reference  to  what  is  to  be, 
and  implies  future  results,  and  consequently  is  a  state  of 
movement  and  performance. 

Bossuet.  I  think,  madame,  I  understand  you.  There  is 
a  distinction,  undoubtedly,  in  the  two  classes  of  cases,  which 
you  have  just  mentioned ;  but  as  the  term  passively  active 
will  apply  to  both  of  them,  I  think  it  is  to  be  preferred. 
You  use  this  complex  term,  I  suppose,  because  there  are 
two  distinct  acts  or  operations  to  be  expressed,  namely, 
the  act  of  preparatory  or  prevenient  grace  on  the  part  of 
God,  and  the  cooperative  act  on  the  part  of  the  creature ; 
the  soul  being  passive,  or  merely  perceptive,  in  the  former ; 
and  active,  although  always  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
leading,  in  the  other. 

Madame  Guyon.  That  is  what  I  mean,  sir ;  and  I  feel 
obliged  to  you  for  the  explanation. 

Bossuet.  Is  your  doctrine,  then,  in  this  particular,  much 
different  from  that  of  antecedent  or  prevenient  grace,  which 
we  generally  find  laid  down  in  theological  writers,  and 
which  implies,  in  its  application,  that  there  is  no  truly  good 
act  on  the  part  of  the  soul,  except  it  be  in  cooperation 
with  God? 

Madame  Guyon.  I  do  not  know,  that  the  difference  is 
great ;   perhaps  there  is  none  at  all.     I  am  willing  to  ac- 


156  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

knowledge  that  I  am  not  much  acquainted  with  theological 
writers. 

Bossuet.  Would  it  not  be  desirable,  madame,  that  those 
who  exercise  the  function  of  public  teachers,  should  have 
such  an  acquaintance  ?  As  women  are  not  in  a  situation  to 
go  through  with  a  course  of  theological  education,  it  has 
sometimes  seemed  to  me,  that  it  would  be  well  for  them  to 
dispense  with  public  missions,  till  they  are  in  a  situation  to 
avail  themselves  of  a  higher  intellectual  culture. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  do  not  doubt,  sir,  that  your  remark  is 
well  meant.  The  want  of  such  qualifications  as  those  to 
which  you  refer,  has  frequently  been  with  me  a  subject  of 
serious  consideration,  and  of  some  perplexity.  Nevertheless 
I  sincerely  believe,  that  it  is  God  who  has  given  me  a  mes- 
sage, in  a  humble  and  proper  way,  to  my  fellow-beings  ;  but 
I  am  aware  of  its  imperfect  utterance.  But,  in  his  great 
wisdom,  he  sometimes  makes  use  of  feeble  instruments.  And 
I  have  thought,  as  he  condescended,  on  one  occasion  at  least, 
to  employ  a  dumb  animal  to  utter  his  truth,  he  might  some- 
times make  use  of  a  woman  for  the  same  purpose. 

Bossuet.  I  merely  refer  to  the  subject,  without  wishing  to 
press  it.  I  should  be  sorry  to  say  any  thing,  which  would 
imply  a  limitation  to  the  wisdom  and  providence  of  God. 

Another  thing,  which  I  have  noticed  in  your  writings,  is 
this.  You  speak  of  those  who  are  in  the  state  of  unselfish 
or  pure  love,  which  I  suppose  you  regard  as  the  highest  reli- 
gious state,  as  contemplating  the  pure  Divinity ;  implying 
in  the  remark  that  they  contemplate  God  in  a  different  way 
from  what  is  common  with  other  Christians. 

Madame  Guyon.  What  I  mean  is  this.  There  are  two 
ideas  of  God ;  the  complex,  and  the  simple  or  primary.  In 
the  order  of  mental  development,  the  complex  is  first ;  but 
in  the  order  of  nature,  the  simple  or  primary  idea  is  first. 
The  complex  idea  is  that  which  embraces  God,  not  so  much 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  157 

in  himself,  as  in  his  attributes  ;  —  his  power,  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  truth.  The  beginners  in  the  religious  life  are  very 
apt  to  stop  and  rest  in  this  idea ;  and  they  can  hardly  fail  to 
lose  by  it.  To  think  of  God's  power,  making  his  power  a 
distinct  and  special  subject  of  attention,  is  not  to  think  of 
God.  To  think  of  God's  benevolence  also,  in  4his  specific 
and  individualizing  manner,  is  not  to  think  of  God ;  but  is 
merely  to  think  of  a  certain  attribute,  which  pertains  to 
him.  It  is  well  understood,  I  suppose,  that  we  may  form  an 
idea  of  matter,  in  distinction  from  the  attributes  of  matter ; 
and  that  we  may  form  an  idea  of  mind,  in  distinction  from  the 
attributes  of  mind ;  —  a  notion  or  idea,  which  is  simple  and 
undefinable,  it  is  true,  but  which  has  a  real  existence.  And 
in  like  manner  we  may  form  an  idea  of  God,  in  distinction 
from  the  attributes  of  God.  It  is  not  only  possible  to  do 
this ;  but  it  is  impossible  not  to  do  it,  on  the  appropriate 
occasions  of  doing  it.  The  very  idea  of  an  attribute  implies 
an  idea  of  a  subject  to  which  the  attribute  belongs.  To 
speak  of  the  attributes  of  the  human  mind  or  of  God,  inde- 
pendently of  the  idea  of  such  mind  or  of  God  considered  as 
distinct  from  such  attributes,  would  be  an  absurdity.  There 
are  two  ideas  of  God,  therefore;  the  one  of  God  as  a  subject, 
the  primary  idea,  which  is  simple  and  undefinable ;  the 
other  of  God  as  a  combination  of  separate  divine  attributes, 
which  is  complex,  and  is  consequently  susceptible  of  analysis 
and  definition.  God,  revealed  in  the  first  idea,  and  consid- 
ered, not  as  a  mere  congeries  of  attributes,  but  as  the  subject 
or  entity  of  such  attributes,  is  what  I  call,  and  I  think  not 
without  some  reason,  the  Pure  Divinity.  Persons  in  the 
sanctified  or  unitive  state,  in  distinction  from  the  meditative 
or  mixed  state,  generally  receive  and  rest  in  God  as  devel- 
oped in  the  first  or  primary  idea.  It  is  natural  to  them  to 
do  so,  and  it  is  not  more  natural  than  it  is  appropriate  and 
profitable.  When  they  depart  from  that  idea,  it  is  almost  a 
vol.  fi.  14 


158  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

matter  of  course  that  they  indulge  in  meditative  and  discur- 
sive acts,  which  tend  to  separate  them  from  the  true  centre ; 
and  they  thus  lose  that  consciousness  of  oneness  with  God, 
which  they  have  when  their  hearts  unite  with  him  as  a  God 
simple.  ' 

Bossuet.  •  Permit  me  to  ask,  madame,  whether  you  mean 
in  these  remarks  to  discourage  meditative  and  discursive 
acts,  such  as  are  implied  in  an  analysis  and  due  considera- 
tion of  the  divine  attributes  ? 

Madame  Guyon.  Not  at  all.  Such  acts  are  very  import- 
ant ;  but  they  have  their  appropriate  place,  and  are  much 
more  suited  to  lower  states  of  experience  than  that  purified 
and  contemplative  state  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 

Bossuet.  The  distinctions  you  have  made,  and  the  expla- 
nations you  have  given,  although  not  obvious  without  con- 
siderable reflection,  seem  to  me  reasonable  and  satisfactory. 
But  I  must  confess,  that  I  cannot  allege  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  that  experience  which  unites  the  soul  with  God 
as  he  is  developed  in  the  primary  or  elementary  idea. 

Madame  Gugon.  I  hope,  sir,  that  you  will  not  take  it 
amiss,  when  I  say,  that  I  regret  that  you  find  it  necessary 
thus  to  speak  of  a  defect  of  personal  experience.  The  theol- 
ogy of  the  head  is  often  obscure  and  uncertain,  without  the 
interpretation  of  the  higher  theology  of  the  heart.  The  head 
sometimes  errs  ;  but  a  right  heart  never. 

Bossuet.  I  hope,  madame,  that  I  have  experienced  some- 
thing of  the  grace  of  God ;  but  I  am  free  to  acknowledge, 
that  I  have  not  arrived  at  what  you  and  other  writers  who 
sympathize  with  your  views,  call  the  fixed  state.  Is  it  pos- 
sible, that  any  one  should  believe,  that  Christians,  however 
devoted  they  may  be,  will  arrive  at  a  state  in  the  present 
life,  where  there  are  no  vicissitudes,  and  where  there  is  per- 
petual sunshine  ?  This  is  another  point  on  which  it  would 
give  me  great  satisfaction  to  obtain  your  explanations. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  159 

Madame  Gugon.  In  using  this  form  of  expression  and 
others  like  it,  it  is  not  meant  to  be  said,  that  the  sanctified 
soul  is  not  characterized,  in  its  experience,  by  any  vicissi- 
tudes whatever.  But  still,  when  the  soul  has  experienced 
this  great  grace,  the  mind  is  comparatively  at  rest.  Is  a 
fixed  state,  understanding  the  terms  in  this  manner,  less  de- 
sirable than  an  unfixed  state  ?  Is  there  any  thing,  which  is 
to  be  especially  commended  in  the  changes,  in  the  alterna- 
tions of  energy  and  .of  weakness,  of  faith  and  of  unbelief, 
which  characterize  the  lives  of  ordinary  Christians  ?  All 
that  is  meant  by  the  fixed  state  is  a  state  which  is  estab- 
lished, which  is  comparatively  firm,  which  is  based  more 
upon  principle  than  upon  feeling,  and  lives  more  by  faith 
than  by  emotion.  Those  who  live  by  faith,  who  see  God 
equally  in  the  storm  and  the  sunshine,  and  who  rejoice 
equally  in  both,  know  what  I  mean ;  while  those  who  do  not 
thus  live,  can  hardly  fail  to  be  perplexed. 

Bossuet.  I  will  proceed  now  to  mention  one  thing,  in 
connection  with  this  form  of  religious  experience,  which 
seems  to  me  worthy  of  special  notice.  Those  who  arrive  at 
the  highest  religious  state  are  so  far  above  the  common 
wants,  or  rather  suppose  themselves  to  be  so  far  above  such 
wants,  as  not  to  recognize  and  urge  them  in  acts  of  supplica- 
tion. At  least,  such  is  often  understood  to  be  the  fact.  But 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  to  you,,  that  the  Scriptures  com- 
mand us  to  pray  always,  to  pray  without  ceasing.  The 
language  of  the  Saviour  is,  "Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive ;  seek, 
and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

It  seems  to  me  very  clear,  that  prayer  is  a  thing  not  only 
of  perpetual  command,  but  of  perpetual  obligation. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  am  pleased,  sir,  that  you  have  intro- 
duced this  subject.  So  far  from  the  truth  is  it,  that  persons, 
who  have  experienced  the  blessing  of  pure  or  perfect 
love,  cease  to  pray,  that  it  is  much  nearer  the  truth  to  say, 


160  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

that  they  pray  always.  Certain  it  is,  that  the  prayer  is 
always  in  their  hearts,  although  it  may  not  always  be  spoken. 
We  sometimes  call  this  state  of  mind  the  prayer  of  silence. 
It  is  perhaps  a  prayer  too  deep  for  words  ;  but  it  is  not  on 
that  account  to  be  regarded  as  no  prayer.  Do  you  state 
your  difficulty  precisely  as  you  wish  to  have  it  understood  ? 

Bossuet.  It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  understand  what  prayer 
is,  unless  it  be  specific.  And  in  order  to  give  my  difficulty 
a  precise  shape,  I  will  attach  that  epithet,  and  say,  that  the 
system  of  present  sanctification,  or  pure  love,  seems  to  ex- 
clude specific  requests,  prayers  for  particular  things. 

Madame  Guyon.  And,  supposing  it  to  be  so,  which  is  not 
the  case,  is  that  state  of  mind  to  be  thought  lightly  of,  which 
does  not  ask  for  particular  things  ?  —  which  says  to  the  Lord 
continually,  I  do  not  ask  for  this  or  that,  I  have  no  desire  or 
petition  for  any  thing  in  particular,  but  desire  and  choose  for 
myself  only  what  God  desires  and  chooses  ?  I  admit,  that 
this,  in  general,  is  the  state  of  mind  in  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced the  blessing  of  a  perfectly  renovated  life.  As  a 
general  thing,  their  state  of  mind  is  one  of  praise  rather  than 
of  petition.  They  have  asked,  and  they  have  received.  If, 
at  a  given  time,  they  ask  for  nothing  more,  ask  for  nothing 
in  particular,  it  is  because  they  are  full  now. 

It  is  well  to  state,  perhaps,  that  persons  in  this  state  of 
mind  cannot  easily  separate  God's  will  from  what  now  is. 
What  God  gives  them  now,  he  wills  to  give  them  now  ;  and 
in  that  will,  which  always  excludes  sin,  but  often  permits 
temptation  and  suffering,  they  are  satisfied  ;  they  want  noth- 
ing more  ;  they  rest.  They  experience  in  themselves  the 
fulfilment  of  those  blessed  directions  of  the  Saviour,  which 
none  but  a  holy  heart  can  fully  receive  and  appreciate :  — 

"  Wherefore,  take  no  thought,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat  ? 
or,  what  shall  we  drink  ?  or,  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ? 
(for  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles  seek  ;)   for  your  heav- 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  161 

enly  Father  knoweth,  that  you  have  need  of  all  these  things. 
But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness ; 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.  Take,  there- 
fore, no  thought  for  the  morrow  ;  for  the  morrow  shall  take 
thought  for  the  things  of  itself." 

In  these  words  there  is  to  my  mind  a  divine  meaning, 
such  as  the  world  does  not  understand.  Take  my  own  situa- 
tion, my  own  case.  My  wants  are  already  supplied,  richly, 
abundantly,  and  running  over.  What  have  I,  then,  to  ask  for  ? 
What  can  I  ask  for  when  my  soul  rests  in  God,  and  is  filled 
with  the  fulness  of  God ;  and  when  he  leaves  me  neither 
time  nor  strength  for  any  thing  but  to  receive  his  favors,  and 
to  bless  him  ? 

Bossuet.  Will  you  permit  me  to  ask,  in  connection  with 
one  of  your  remarks,  whether  you  mean  literal  fulness  ? 

Madame  Guyon.  I  do  not  know,  sir,  that  I  understand 
the  precise  import  of  your  question. 

Bossuet.  I  am  led,  madame,  to  ask  the  question,  by  an 
association  which  is  suggested  by  your  expressions.  In 
reading  your  Life,  I  notice  that  upon  more  than  one  occa- 
sion you  speak  of  such  effusions  of  grace,  that  your  very 
physical  system  dilated,  as  it  were,  and  enlarged  with  them, 
so  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  relieve  yourself  by  some  re- 
adjustments of  your  apparel. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  recollect  that  there  was  a  time  in  my 
religious  experience,  when  my  emotions  ware  so  strong,  that 
my  physical  system  was,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  very  much 
affected ;  so  much  so  that  I  obtained  some  relief  in  the  way 
which  you  have  mentioned.  And  as,  in  writing  my  life,  my 
religious  director  required  me  to  be  very  particular  and  to 
write  every  thing,  I  thought  myself  bound  to  mention  the 
circumstance  to  which  you  allude.  Nor  do  I  know  that 
there  is  any  thing  very  astonishing  in  the  fact,  or  improper 
in  the  statement  of  it.     It  is  well  known  that  remarkable 

vol.  it.  14* 


162  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

effects  are  sometimes  produced  upon  the  physical  system  by 
excited  natural  emotions,  as  well  as  by  those  which  are  reli- 
gious. I  was  quite  overcome,  I  well  recollect ;  and  it  was 
necessary  for  my  friends  to  render  me  some  assistance  in 
such  manner  as  seemed  to  them  proper  and  best ;  but  I  take 
this  opportunity  to  say,  that  I  do  not  consider  emotive  ex- 
citement as  always  identical  with  true  religious  experience, 
and  still  less  with  the  highest  kind  of  experience.  Great 
physical  agitation,  originating  in  strong  emotions,  is  generally 
connected,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  either  at  the  time  or 
at  some  antecedent  period,  with  a  high  degree  of  inward  re- 
sistance. But,  in  the  highest  degree  of  experience,  all  such 
resistance  is  taken  away ;  the  whole  soul  is  in  harmony  both 
with  itself  and  with  God ;  and  there  is  quietness,  such  as 
the  world  does  not  know ;  a  great  inward  and  outward  calm. 

Bossuet.  This  is,  in  part,  a  digression.  Let  us  return  to 
the  subject  of  which  we  were  speaking.  We  were  speaking 
upon  prayer.  If  I  understand  you,  your  soul  rests :  that  is 
the  term  you  employ.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  satisfied  with 
what  it  now  has  in  God ;  and  you  have  nothing  to  pray 
for  in  particular. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  think  the  term  rest  expresses  this 
state  very  well.  It  is  the  rest  of  faith.  But  such  a  state  does 
not  exclude  prayer.  On  the  contrary,  the  sanctified  soul  is, 
by  the  very  fact  of  its  sanctification,  the  continual  subject  of 
that  prayer  which  includes  all  other  prayer,  namely,  Thy  will 
be  done.  When  the  whole  church  can  utter  that  prayer  with 
one  heart  and  a  true  heart,  the  world  will  be  renovated.  I 
wish,  however,  to  correct  what  may  perhaps  be  an  error  in 
your  view  of  the  subject. 

This  prayer,  in  which  the  holy  soul  rests,  as  in  its  pleas- 
ant and  perpetual  home,  is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  speci- 
fic prayer.  God,  who  has  a  regard  to  our  situation  and  to 
the  relations  we  sustain,  and  who  has  the  control  of  the  mind 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  163 

that  has  given  all  up  to  himself,  does  not  fail  to  inspire  the 
consecrated  soul  with  specific  desires  appropriate  to  times, 
places,  and  persons ;  though  always  in  subordination,  as  they 
always  ought  to  be  in  subordination,  to  his  holy  will. 

Bossuet.  You  will  notice,  that  it  is  not  so  much  my  object 
to  criticise  your  explanations,  as  to  receive  them ;  and,  where 
I  do  not  regard  them  as  entirely  satisfactory  at  present,  to 
make  them  the  subject  of  future  meditation.  I  proceed,  then, 
to  say  without  any  further  remarks  on  ihe  matters  which 
have  already  been  suggested,  that  the  state  of  mind  which 
you  advocate  is  supposed  to  lead  to  inaction. 

Madame  Guyon.  I  do  not  readily  see,  sir,  how  such  a 
statement  could  well  apply  to  myself,  who  have  hardly 
known,  whatever  may  be  true  of  my  mind,  what  it  is  to  rest 
outwardly  and  physically. 

Bossuet.  I  think,  madame,  it  will  not ;  but  such  an  im- 
pression could  hardly  arise  without  some  foundation  for  it. 
And  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  what  can  be  said  in  relation  to 
the  prevalence  of  an  idea,  which  is  certainly  an  unfavorable 
one. 

Madame  Guyon.  The  foundation,  sir,  of  this  idea  is  in 
the  fact,  I  suppose,  that  the  truly  holy  soul  ceases  from  all 
action,  which  has  its  origin  in  merely  human  impulse.  It  is 
the  characteristic  of  souls,  which  are  in  this  state,  that  they 
move  as  they  are  moved  upon  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  As 
many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
God."  *  They  move,  therefore,  in  God's  order ;  neither 
falling  behind  by  indolence,  nor  precipitated  by  impetuosity. 
They  move  in  God's  spirit,  because  they  are  sustained  by 
faith  ;  benevolent,  just,  immutable  in  their  purpose,  so  far  as 
immutability  can  be  predicated  of  any  thing  that  is  human, 
but  always  without  violence.     Such  sometimes  appear  to  be 

*  Rom.  viii.  14. 


164  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

inactive,  because  their  action  is  without  noise.  But  they  are 
God's  workmen ;  the  true  builders  in  his  great  and  silently- 
rising  temple ;  and  they  leave  an  impression,  which,  although 
it  is  not  always  marked  and  observable  at  the  time,  is  deep, 
operative,  and  enduring.  In  this  respect  at  least,  I  think  we 
may  say,  that  they  are  formed  in  the  divine  likeness.  God 
is  the  great  operator  of  the  universe ;  but  what  he  does,  is 
generally  done  in  silence.  The  true  kingdom  of  God  comes 
"  without  observation." 

Bossuet.  I  will  not  pursue  these  inquiries  farther  at  pres- 
ent, except  in  one  particular.  There  are  some  expressions, 
madame,  in  your  writings,  —  and  it  is  the  same,  I  suppose,  in 
other  writings  of  a  similar  character,  —  which  seem  to  imply 
the  extinction  of  all  desire.  Man  is  a  perceptive  and  sen- 
tient being ;  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  extinction 
of  all  desire,  so  far  from  rendering  him  more  religious,  would 
render  him  a  brute. 

Madame  Guyon.  This  difficulty  is  almost  identical  with 
one  which  has  already  been  considered  :  still  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  give  it  a  separate  notice.  I  am  aware,  sir,  that 
those  who  have  gained  the  inward  victory,  very  frequently 
speak  of  the  extinction  of  desire  as  a  characteristic  of  this 
state,  and  as  an  evidence  of  it.  How  can  those  desire,  who 
already  have  every  thing  ?  How  can  those  be  in  want,  who 
are  already  full  ?  But  I  suppose  that  their  meaning  is,  and 
can  be,  only  this.  They  have  lost  all  natural  or  unsanctified 
desire.  They  do  rot  desire  any  thing  in  themselves  and  of 
themselves  ;  any  thing  out  of  God,  in  the  sense  of  being  irre- 
spective of  his  will. 

Bossuet.  Why,  then,  do  they  not  say  what  they  mean  ? 
The  form  of  expression,  as  we  frequently  find  it,  is  certainly 
a  peculiar  one. 

Madame  Guyon.  In  the  first  place,  sir,  if  their  meaning 
is  understood  as  I  think  it  would  be  likely  to  be  by  most 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  165 

persons,  the  more  concise  expression  is  the  preferable  one. 
But  there  is  perhaps  a  special  reason  for  their  expressing 
themselves  in  the  manner  they  do.  The  state  in  which  they 
are,  is  not  only  one  of  right  or  sanctified  desire,  but  of  very 
strong  faith.  Their  faith  necessarily  takes  the  form  of  be- 
lieving, that  every  thing  in  their  situation,  with  the  exception 
of  sin,  is  in  accordance  with  God's  will,  and  cannot  be  other- 
wise. Consequently  all  their  desires  are  met,  and  perfectly 
met,  in  the  occurrences  of  each  moment ;  and  this  is  done, 
not  only  so  perfectly  but  so  quickly,  that  the  desire  and  the 
fulfilment  of  the  desire  are  not  very  distinct  in  the  conscious- 
ness, but  seem  to  be  mingled  together  ;  so  much  so  that  the 
person  does  not,  in  general,  have  a  distinct  recollection  of 
the  desire.  Hence  it  is  natural  for  such  persons,  for  this 
reason,  as  well  as  because  all  unsanctified  desires  are  in 
reality  dead,  to  speak  of  their  being  without  desire.  In  this 
manner  the  expressions  originate. 

11.  There  were  a  number  of  other  topics  taken  up  in  the 
course  of  the  conversation.  One  was  the  transmission  of 
divine  grace  from  herself  to  others,  which  she  had  spoken 
of  in  her  writings,  as  if  it  were  a  perceptible  or  sensible 
transmission ;  adding  that  the  divine  power  or  influence, 
which  was  transmitted  through  herself  as  an  instrument,  re- 
turned back  with  all  its  blessedness  into  her  own  soul,  when 
it  was  not  received  by  others.  The  difficulty  in  these  pas- 
sages of  her  writings  is,  that  she  describes  things  as  they 
seemed  to  be,  and  not  as  they  really  are  ;  and  thus  gave  to 
the  spiritual  operation  a  sensible  or  material  character,  which 
is  not  appropriate  to  it. 

When,  for  instance,  she  was  in  the  company  of  persons 
who  were  seriously  disposed,  but  still  were  without  religion, 
her  mind  was  not  only  prayerful,  but  sad  and  burdened,  on 
their  behalf.  When  she  witnessed  in  these  persons  a  dispo- 
sition to  receive  the  truth  and  other  evidences  of  a  yielding 


166  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

and  changing  spirit,  she  at  once  experienced  relief  in  he* 
own  mind ;  her  prayer  was  answered ;  the  burden  was  re- 
moved. So  that  apparently,  and  looking  at  the  subject  in 
the  merely  human  light,  something  seemed  to  pass  sensibly 
and  literally  from  herself  to  others.  And  describing  the 
thing  according  to  the  appearance,  rather  than  according  to 
the  fact,  she  justly  gave  occasion  for  the  inquiries  and  criti- 
cisms of  Bossuet. 

12.  Another  matter  of  inquiry  was  this.  While  she  freely 
spoke,  when  occasion  rendered  it  proper,  of  the  subjection 
of  her  natural  selfish  life,  and  of  her  renovation  and  union 
of  spirit  with  the  divine  life,  there  were  some  passages  in 
her  writings,  which  Bossuet  called  to  her  attention,  which 
seemed  to  imply,  that  there  was  such  a  want  of  any  thing 
remarkable  in  her  state,  that  she  found  it  difficult  to  describe 
it  or  speak  of  it.  She  says,  for  instance,  in  one  passage 
of  her  Autobiography,  "  My  state  has  become  simple,  and 
without  any  variations.  It  is  a  profound  annihilation.  I  find 
nothing  in  myself,  to  which  I  can  give  a  name." 

13.  She  explained  these  passages  by  saying,  that  they 
were  to  be  understood  in  a  comparative  sense.  Beginners  in 
the  religious  life  are  necessarily  inquisitive,  agitated,  active, 
but  often  spasmodic  and  variable  in  their  action,  and  full 
of  various  kinds  of  emotion.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that 
almost  every  day  and  hour  presents  something  in  their  ex- 
perience, which  may  be  made  the  subject  of  notice  and  of 
interesting  conversation.  But  the  soul,  in  a  higher  state 
of  experience,  has  reduced  the  multiplicity  and  agitations  of 
nature  to  the  one  simple  principle  of  union  with  God's  will. 
It  is  united  to  God's  will  by  faith.  God  is  immutable ; 
therefore  there  is  a  centre  of  rest. 

14.  We  may  illustrate  the  subject  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
A  child,  finding  its  parents  out  of  the  house,  runs  about  with 
great  noise  ;  its  inquiries  and  cries  are  heard  in  the  whole 


OF   MADAME    GUYON  167 

neighborhood ;  but,  as  soon  as  its  parents  are  found,  it  sits 
down  quietly.  It  makes  less  noise,  but  it  has  more  peace ; 
it  is  less  talked  about,  but  it  is  more  happy. 

The  beginners  in  science,  in  the  mathematics  for  instance, 
advance  from  step  to  step  with  great  effort.  Their  efforts 
attract  notice,  because  they  are  made  in  various  ways,  and 
under  a  variety  of  motives  and  excitements.  When  they 
miss  in  their  calculations,  they  are  depressed  with  sorrow. 
When  they  are  successful,  and  find  their  problems  fully 
solved,  they  run  to  tell  their  neighbors,  and  sometimes  shout 
with  joy.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  great  masters  of  the 
science,  a  Newton  for  instance.  These  last,  while  they  are 
inwardly  thoughtful  and  operative,  are  nevertheless  always 
calm,  and  often  silent ;  because  they  are  not  seekers  and 
progressors  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  terms,  but  have  the 
mathematics  in  themselves.  And  so  in  relation  to  any  thing 
else  ;  religion  among  other  things.  The  more  we  know  and 
possess  of  it,  the  greater  is  our  simplicity  and  rest  of  spirit. 

15.  On  this  subject  Madame  Guyon  frequently  used  this 
illustration.  All  fountains  and  rivers  have  a  tendency  to 
the  ocean.  They  oftentimes  flow  with  great  violence  ;  over- 
coming obstacles,  dashing  against  rocks,  but  foaming  and 
rushing  around  them  with  great  noise ;  but  when  they  meet 
and  mingle  with  the  mighty  ocean,  all  is  peaceful,  because 
they  have  reached  the  place  of  their  rest. 

It  was  in  this  way,  and  by  means  of  such  illustrations  as 
these,  that  she  endeavored  to  explain  her  own  state.  The 
life  of  faith,  when  faith  is  perfect,  is  a  very  simple  one.  The 
principle  of  faith  is  to  the  soul,  considered  in  its  relation  to 
God,  what  the  principle  of  gravitation  is  to  the  physical 
universe ;  uniting  all,  harmonizing  all,  but  always  without 
confusion  and  noise,  and  with  the  greatest  simplicity  of 
operation. 

16.  In  giving,  in  this  remarkable  conversation,  some  ac- 


168  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

count  of  her  own  state,  she  uses  an  illustration  which  is 
worthy  of  some  notice,  although  I  am  not  sure,  that  it  is  in 
all  respects  an  appropriate  one.  Bossuet  was  examining 
her  on  the  point  of  her  inability  to  originate,  by  her  own 
movement,  distinct  inward  acts.  In  explaining  herself  on 
this  subject,  she  said  that  the  truly  purified  soul,  in  the  sim- 
plicity of  its  temper  and  in  its  relations  to  God,  seemed  to 
her  to  be  like  the  pure  water. 

"  Nothing,"  she  says,  "  is  more  simple  than  water ;  nothing 
is  more  pure.  In  this  respect  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  em- 
blem of  the  holy  soul.  But  this  is  not  all.  Among  other 
things,  water  has  the  property  of  yielding  readily  and  easily 
to  all  impressions  which  can  be  made  upon  it.  And  here 
we  have  another  striking  incident  of  resemblance.  As  water 
yields  with  inconceivable  readiness  to  the  slightest  human 
touch,  so  does  the  holy  soul  yield,  without  any  resistance,  to 
the  slightest  touch  of  God ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  slightest 
intimations  of  the  divine  will.  Again,  water  is  without 
color ;  but  it  is  susceptible  of  all  colors.  So  the  holy  soul, 
colorless  in  itself,  reflects  the  hues,  whatever  they  may  be, 
which  emanate  from  the  divine  countenance.  Again,  water 
has  no  form ;  but  takes  the  form  of  the  vessels,  almost  end- 
less in  variety,  in  which  it  is  contained.  So  the  holy  soul 
takes  no  position  or  form  of  itself,  but  only  that  which  God 
gives  it." 

And  these  statements  she  did  not  hesitate  to  apply  to 
herself.  They  illustrated  the  state  of  her  own  soul.  Her 
soul,  fulfilling  its  mission  in  its  simple  cooperation  with 
divine  grace,  had  nothing  of  itself.  It  had  its  form,  its 
brightness,  and  its  movement  in  God.  What  God  desired 
she  desired ;  what  God  willed,  she  willed ;  what  God  said, 
she  said.  Her  business  was  cooperation,  not  origination. 
There  was  a  voice  in  her  spirit,  inaudible  but  always  heard, 
or  rather  inaudible  to  men,  but  always  heard   by  Him  who 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  169 

inspired  it,  which  responded,  in  harmony  with  all  holy  be- 
ings, with  an  universal  and  eternal  Amen. 

17.  This  conference,  which  took  place  on  the  30  sh  of 
January,  1694,  continued  the  whole  afternoon  and  evening. 
We  have  not  undertaken  to  repeat  every  thing  which  was 
probably  said ;  but  have  detailed  enough,  perhaps,  to  give 
the  reader  a  general  and  correct  idea  of  the  relative  posi- 
tion and  views  of  the  two  parties.  It  was  a  trying  day  to 
Madame  Guyon.  The  acute  and  discriminating  mind  of 
Bossuet,  formed  to  grapple  with  the  most  difficult  subjects, 
subjected  her  to  an  examination,  both  intellectually  and  reli- 
giously, such  as  she  had  never  passed  through  before.  But 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  her,  to  a  degree  beyond  his 
anticipations,  ready  to  acknowledge  where  she  was  wrong,  to 
explain  where  she  was  obscure,  and  to  defend  herself,  be- 
yond the  ordinary  power  either  of  man  or  woman,  where  she 
knew  and  felt  herself  to  be  right.  But  still  it  was  a  trying 
season  to  her ;  a  season  which  required  quickness  of  thought, 
entire  purity  of  intention,  and  religious  patience. 

18.  Bossuet,  who  had  been  an  instructer  of  princes,  was 
no  stranger  to  the  French  court,  and  to  the  presence  and 
intercourse  of  polite  and  courtly  men  ;  but  still  he  was  more 
addicted  to  books  than  to  society,  and  thought  more  of  argu- 
ments than  of  manners.  He  was  a  great  man,  (speaking 
after  the  manner  of  those  who  see  things  out  of  their  relation 
to  God ;)  but,  accustomed  to  the  supremacy  of  his  intellectual 
power,  he  was  apt  to  be  dictatorial  and  rough  in  his  great- 
ness. And  this  ponderous  roughness  of  manner,  which  cor- 
responded well  with  the  weighty  and  strong  movement  of 
his  intellectual  action,  was  but  little  conciliated  and  softened 
by  the  presence  and  the  finer  sensibilities  of  woman. 

Madame  Guyon  refers  to  this  peculiarity  of  Bossuet,  not 
in  the  way  of  complaint,  but  merely  in  explanation  of  what 
she  endured  in  this  and  some  subsequent  conferences.    "  He 

VOL.  II.  15 


170  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

was  evidently,"  she  says,  "  unfavorably  affected  towards  me 
by  the  secret  efforts  of  some  persons  resident  in  the  neigh- 
borhood where  we  met.  He  spoke  almost  with  violence, 
and  very  fast,  and  hardly  gave  me  time  to  explain  some 
things  which  I  wished  to  explain.  I  was  so  agitated,  in 
one  or  two  instances,  by  his  authoritative  and  apparently 
dictatorial  manner,  that  I  entirely  lost  my  recollection.  We 
parted  from  each  other  very  late  in  the  evening ;  and  I 
returned  home  so  wearied  and  overcome  with  what  had 
passed  between  us,  that  I  was  sick  for  several  days." 

19.  Bossuet  seems,  in  general,  notwithstanding  the  unfa- 
vorable prepossessions  to  which  Madame  Guyon  refers,  to 
have  been  satisfied  with  this  interview.  But  there  were 
some  things  in  her  writings,  or  in  what  she  said  at  this  time, 
which  he  did  not  yet  fully  understand.  Perhaps  it  was 
owing  to  the  want  of  the  corresponding  inward  experience. 
"  The  light,"  says  the  Scripture,  "  shineth  in  darkness  ;  and 
the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not."  This  is  as  true  of  the 
partially  sanctified  as  it  is  of  the  beginners  in  the  religious 
life.  They  sometimes  treat  lightly,  and  perhaps  entirely 
reject,  the  problems  of  sanctification  ;  because,  through  the 
want  of  personal  experience,  they  do  not  comprehend  them. 

"  As  there  were  some  things,"  she  says,  "  which  he  could 
not  understand,  or  to  which  he  could  not  reconcile  himself,  I 
wrote  several  letters  to  him  after  this  interview,  in  which 
I  endeavored,  in  the  best  manner  I  was  able,  to  elucidate 
these  difficulties.  He  was  so  kind  as  to  send  me  a  long  let- 
ter in  return  of  more  than  twenty  pages,  from  which  it  very 
clearly  appears,  that  he  was  somewhat  embarrassed  by  the 
newness  of  the  subject,  and  in  consequence  of  the  imperfect 
knowledge  he  had  of  the  interior  ways  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
of  which  none  are  able  to  judge  except  from  experience." 

20.  I  am  aware,  that  this  suggestion  of  Madame  Guyon, 
which  implies  a  want  of  intellectual  perception  on  the  part 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  171 

ot  Bossuet,  arising  from  a  want  of  inward  experience,  may 
sound  strange  to  those  whose  favorable  associations  with 
that  distinguished  man  have  hitherto  admitted  of  no  excep- 
tions. And  truth  requires  us  to  say,  if  we  may  judge  from 
the  evidences  of  a  serious  and  consistent  life,  that,  if  he  was 
eminently  learned  and  intellectual,  he  was  also  decidedly 
moral  and  religious.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  entirely  evi- 
dent, I  think,  that  he  would  have  understood  and  appre- 
ciated his  opponents  better,  particularly  Madame  Guyon,  if 
he  had  stood  in  the  same  rank  in  the  gradations  of  inward 
experience.  It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  philosophize  cor- 
rectly on  the  natural  passions,  who  has  had  no  knowledge  of 
them  himself.  And  it  is  the  same  in  religion.  In  order  to 
describe  religion,  we  must  first  know  it ;  and  to  describe  it 
and  elucidate  it  in  its  different  degrees,  we  must  know  it  in 
those  degrees.  And  it  was  in  connection  with  such  views 
as  these,  that  she  requested  Bossuet,  in  the  course  of  the 
conference  between  them,  to  judge  her  by  the  heart  rather 
than  by  the  head. 

21.  A  short  time  after  this  interview  with  Bossuet,  prob- 
ably not  more  than  a  few  weeks,  she  was  seized  with  a 
violent  attack  of  fever.  It  continued  forty  days.  It  seemed 
probable  that  she  would  not  recover.  Her  soul  rested 
calmly  in  God ;  never  more  so  than  when  the  great  change 
appeared  near  at  hand.  She  was  enabled,  during  this  sick- 
ness, to  dictate  a  few  letters,  to  be  sent  to  her  religious 
friends.  In  them  she  expressed  the  earnest  prayer,  that 
"  God  would  finish  in  those  to  whom  she  thus  wrote,  the 
good  work  which  He  had  begun."  She  said,  "if  she  had  been 
the  instrument  of  any  good  to  them,  she  was  merely  an  in- 
strument, and  the  honor  belonged  to  God  alone ;  and  it  was 
her  prayer,  that  he  might  fully  accomplish  and  preserve  that 
which  was  his  own,  namely,  the  spirit  of  an  entire  renuncia- 
tion of  themselves.     She  exhorted  them  to  bear  the  cross 


172  LIFE,    ETC. 

patiently,  and  to  follow  Jesus  Christ  with  hearts  filled  with 
his  pure  love.  If  she  should  be  taken  from  them  now,  she 
wished  them  to  look  upon  it  as  an  event  illustrating  anew 
the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God ;  and  was  desirous,  while 
they  turned  their  thoughts  and  hearts  to  him  as  the  source 
of  all  truth  and  all  good,  that  they  would  cease  to  think 
of  her,  and  would  let  her  pass  from  their  memory  as  a  thing 
unknown."  From  this  sickness,  however,  which  assumed  so 
threatening  an  aspect,  she  recovered. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

1695.  Opposition  to  her  doctrines  continues.  Louis  Fourteenth 
appoints  three  commissioners,  Bossuet,  De  Noailles,  and  Tronson, 
to  examine  them.  Their  character.  She  prepares  and  lays  be- 
fore them  the  work,  entitled,  Justifications.  Account  of  the  first 
meeting  of  the  commissioners.  Exclusion  of  the  Duke  of  Chev- 
reuse  from  the  meeting.  Course  taken  by  Bossuet.  She  has  in- 
terviews subsequently  with  the  Bishop  of  Chalons  and  Monsieur 
Tronson.  No  condemnation  passed  upon  her  at  this  time.  Of 
the  articles  of  Issy.  She  retires  for  a  time  to  the  Convent  of  St. 
Mary  in  Meaux.  Her  remarks  on  a  charge  of  hypocrisy  made 
against  her.     A  Poem. 

The  conferences  of  Madame  Guyon  with  Bossuet  were, 
in  a  great  degree,  private.  Whatever  impressions,  there- 
fore, might  have  been  left  upon  the  mind  of  Bossuet,  whether 
more  or  less  favorable,  they  did  not  satisfy  the  feelings  of 
the  public.  Madame  Guyon  was  almost  universally  con- 
sidered as  the  teacher  of  a  new  doctrine.  It  was  to  be 
expected,  therefore,  at  a  time  when  every  thing  new  was 
suspicious,  that  the  outcry  against  her  would  be  general. 
Her  character  was  assailed,  as  well  as  her  doctrine.  Under 
these  circumstances  she  wrote  to  Madame  de  Maintenon, 
requesting  that  a  number  of  suitable  persons  might  be  select- 
ed, for  the  purpose  of  judging  both  of  her  doctrine  and  her 
morals  ;  and  offering,  at  the  same  time,  to  submit  to  any  de- 
gree of  confinement  and  restraint,  until  it  should  please  the 
king  to  appoint  such  persons. 

vol.  ir.  15  * 


174  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

To  this  request  Madame  de  Maintenon  returned  an  an- 
swer to  the  Duke  de  Chevreuse.  The  duke  was  instructed 
to  inform  Madame  Guyon,  that  she  had  laid  the  subject 
before  the  king,  who  not  only  approved  of  a  new  examina- 
tion of  her  writings,  but  thought  that  persons  eminent  for 
their  virtues  and  talents  should  be  employed  on  the  occa- 
sion. And,  accordingly,  in  a  short  time  he  appointed  three 
commissioners,  Bossuet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  Monsieur  Tronson, 
Superior  of  the  Seminary  of  St.  Sulpitius,  and  Monsieur  de 
Noailles,  bishop  of  Chalons,  to  make  inquiries,  and  to  do 
what  they  thought  proper  in  the  case. 

2.  The  persons  were  all  eminent  men.  The  Bishop  of 
Chalons  was  afterwards  appointed  Archbishop  of  Paris,  and 
was  subsequently  made  a  Cardinal.  The  Superior  of  St. 
Sulpitius  was  a  man  eminent  alike  for  his  talents  and  vir- 
tues, whose  memory  is  cherished  and  venerated  to  the  pres- 
ent day.    Of  Bossuet  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak. 

Whether  we  consider  their  learning,  their  position  in  the 
church,  or  their  general  character,  no  objection  could  rea- 
sonably be  made  to  these  persons.  The  selection  of  such 
distinguished  men,  for  the  purpose  which  has  been  specified, 
was  itself  a  marked  tribute,  if  not  to  the  correctness  of  her 
sentiments,  at  least  to  the  great  intellectual  power  and  the 
personal  influence  of  Madame  Guyon. 

3.  Madame  Guyon  sent  to  them,  at  their  request,  the 
manuscript  of  her  Autobiography,  so  far  as  it  was  then  writ- 
ten, her  book  on  Prayer,  the  experimental  work  entitled 
The  Torrents,  and  her  manuscript  Commentaries  on  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  at  this  time  that  she 
prepared  with  great  labor  her  valuable  work,  entitled,  Justi- 
fications of  the  Doctrine  of  Madame  Ckiyon.*  In  this  work 
she  endeavors  to  sustain  and  justify  her  views,  by  quotations 

*  Justifications  de  la  Doctrine  de  Madame  Guyon. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  175 

from  a  multitude  of  writers  on  the  subject  of  experimental 
religion  ;  not  omitting  even  the  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers. 
She  sustains  herself,  in  particular,  by  references  to  the  writ- 
ings of  St.  Dionysius,  Cassien,  St.  Bernard,  John  Climacus, 
Catharine  of  Genoa,  John  of  the  Cross,  St.  Theresa,  Henry 
Suso,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  Gerson,  Ruysbroke,  Thauler,  John 
de  S.  Samson,  Harphius,  Blosius,  Ruis  de  Montoya,  and 
others. 

4.  She  refers  to  this  work,  which  she  prepared  in  her  own 
defence,  and  with  the  expectation  that  it  wrould  be  examined 
by  the  commissioners,  in  the  following  terms  :  —  "In  order  to 
facilitate  the  examination  which  I  expected  to  undergo,  and 
to  spare  the  commissioners  as  much  time  and  trouble  as  I 
could,  I  collected  together  a  great  number  of  passages  out  of 
approved  spiritual  writers,  for  the  purpose  of  showing,  that 
my  own  statements  and  views  were  in  accordance  with  those 
of  such  writers,  and  with  the  Holy  Scriptures.  It  was  a 
large  work.  Having  written  it  out,  I  caused  it  to  be  tran- 
scribed on  separate  quires  of  paper,  and  sent  in  this  manner 
to  the  three  commissioners.  I  also,  by  remarks  appended 
to  these  extracts,  endeavored  to  clear  up  some  doubtful  and 
obscure  passages  in  my  writings.  When  I  first  wrote,  the 
troubles  in  relation  to  Michael  de  Molinos  had  not  broken 
out  ;  so  that  I  used  less  precaution  in  expressing  my 
thoughts  than  I  might  otherwise  have  done,  not  imagining 
that  my  expressions  would  be  turned  into  an  evil  sense. 
This  work  was  entitled  the  Justifications.  It  cost  me  fifty 
days'  labor ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  sufficient  to  clear  up  and 
establish  my  case." 

5.  The  first  meeting  of  the  commissioners  was  appointed 
to  be  held  in  August,  1694.  They  were  expected  to  meet 
at  the  house  of  Bossuet.  Where  his  house  was,  is  not  said ; 
but  probably  in  his  own  diocese,  and  in  the  town  of  Meaux. 
At  the  appointed  time,  Madame  Guyon  went  there,  accom- 


170  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

parried  by  her  friend,  the  Duke  of  Chevreuse,  of  whose  piety 
and  distinguished  position  we  have  formerly  spoken.  The 
Bishop  of  Chalons  came  also ;  but  Tronson  was  sick,  and  did 
not  come. 

For  some  reason,  Bossuet  was  not  at  home  when  they 
arrived,  and  did  not  come  till  some  hours  afterwards.  This 
gave  Madame  Guyon  a  favorable  opportunity  to  explain  her 
sentiments  to  the  Bishop  of  Chalons,  who  was  a  man  of  can- 
dor as  well  as  piety.  He  listened  kindly  and  patiently  to 
her  remarks ;  uniting  the  civility  of  the  gentleman  and  the 
Christian  with  a  sincere  disposition  to  do  justice. 

6.  After  some  time,  Bossuet  came  in.  It  was  then  to- 
wards evening.  After  a  little  time  spent  in  general  conver- 
sation, he  opened  a  packet  which  he  had  brought,  apparently 
containing  papers  having  relation  to  the  objects  of  their 
meeting.  He  then  turned  to  the  Duke  of  Chevreuse,  and 
observed  to  him,  that  the  affair,  having  relation  to  matters  of 
doctrine,  was  entirely  ecclesiastical  in  its  nature  ;  and  as  the 
decision  of  such  cases  belonged  exclusively  to  bishops,  he 
did  not  think  it  proper  for  one  who  was  not  a  bishop  to  be 
present.  The  presence  of  any  person,  not  a  member  of  the 
commission,  would  tend  to  interrupt  and  diminish  their  free- 
dom. The  Duke  of  Chevreuse  was  not  a  man  either  to 
resist  such  an  intimation,  or  to  be  offended  at  it,  and  very 
readily  withdrew. 

7.  Madame  Guyon  was  somewhat  affected  at  this  inci- 
dent. The  general  principle  of  Bossuet  was  undoubtedly 
correct ;  but  it  seemed  to  her,  that  it  was  not  justly  applica- 
ble under  the  present  circumstances.  The  object  of  the 
meeting,  as  it  seemed  to  her  with  much  reason,  was  not  so 
much  to  settle  doctrines  for  the  church,  as  to  estimate  and 
pronounce  upon  the  opinions  and  character  of  an  individual. 
And  recollecting  how  much  she  had  suffered,  both  physically 
and  mentally,  in  her  former  interviews  with  Bossuet,  she 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  177 

thought  she  needed  the  presence  and  assistance  of  some  one 
who  understood  both  her  character  and  opinions.  The 
Duke  of  Chevreuse,  in  compliance  with  her  earnest  request, 
had  kindly  consented  to  render  his  aid.  De  Noailles  seems 
to  have  had  no  objection  to  his  being  present,  but  did  not 
openly  advocate  it ;  Bossuet  was  entirely  decided,  and  would 
not  consent  to  it. 

8.  u  I  was  greatly  surprised,"  says  Madame  Guyon,  "  at 
the  exclusion  of  the  duke.  I  must  confess  that  the  reason 
assigned  for  his  exclusion  seemed  to  me  rather  a  pretence, 
than  a  reason  assigned  in  good  faith.  I  could  not  but  think, 
that  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  was  unwilling  to  have  present  a 
man  of  such  an  established  character,  who  might  afterwards 
be  a  witness  to  the  world  of  what  passed  between  us.  Why 
should  he  not  have  been  there,  as  I  requested  him  to 
be  ?  What  could  be  more  natural  than  the  presence  of  a 
person  so  eminent  in  the  world,  so  famous  both  for  piety 
and  learning,  so  greatly  interested  in  the  clearing  up  of  these 
matters,  that  both  he  and  others  might  be  undeceived,  if, 
against  my  intention,  I  had  instilled  notions  into  them  con- 
trary to  the  purity  of  the  faith  ?  Such  a  witness  might  have 
served  to  confound  me,  if  I  had  spoken  differently  from  what 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  hear  me  speak.  He  might  have 
been  undeceived  himself,  and  been  instrumental  in  unde- 
ceiving others,  if  in  these  peaceable  conferences  I  had  been 
convicted  of  errors.  This  was  one  of  the  things  proposed 
and  anticipated,  when  the  measure  of  appointing  commis- 
sioners to  examine  me  was  first  suggested.  But  why  do  I 
thus  allude  to  subordinate  instruments,  as  disappointing  my 
expectations?  We  are  apt  to  look  at  men  and  at  men's 
doings.    It  was  God  who  did  not  permit  them" 

9.  In  this  interview,  as  in  the  former  one,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year,  and  in  a  still  greater  degree,  the  Bishop  of 
Meaux   exhibited  his  characteristic  vivacity  of  expression 


178  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

and  manner ;  so  much  so,  as  sometimes,  in  the  opinion  of 
Madame  Guyon,  to  violate  the  ordinary  rules  of  kindness 
and  civility.  A  single  incident  will  illustrate  her  remark. 
After  alluding  to  other  inquiries  and  topics  of  conversation, ' 
which  came  before  them  on  this  occasion,  Madame  Guyon 
observes,  "  I  was  then  proceeding  to  show  to  the  bishopr 
that  the  doctrines  which  are  found  in  my  writings  were  in 
conformity  with  those  which  appear  in  other  approved  wri- 
ters on  inward  experience.  He  replied  to  my  remarks,  that 
he  was  much  surprised  at  my  ignorance.  And  not  satisfied 
with  distinctly  asserting  my  want  of  knowledge,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  cast  ridicule  upon  my  modes  of  expression ;  and 
obviously  endeavored  to  darken,  and  to  turn  into  mere  jar- 
gon, every  thing  which  I  said  ;  especially  when  he  observed 
that  Monsieur  de  Noailles  began  to  be  touched  and  affected 
by  the  turn  of  our  conversation.  When  I  am  treated  in  this 
violent  manner,  I  am  apt  to  become  confused  and  forgetful. 
And,  accordingly,  I  thought  it  proper  to  drop  the  discourse 
with  Bossuet,  and  said  nothing." 

10.  "  De  Noailles,"  she  adds,  "  treated  me  with  all  pos- 
sible civility.  When  I  directed  my  conversation  to  him,  he 
took  the  pains  to  write  down  some  of  my  answers.  Noticing 
the  rough  manner  of  Bossuet,  he  endeavored  to  soften  and 
ward  off  the  blows  from  me,  as  much  as  he  could." 

After  this  conference,  the  topics  of  which  were  probably 
much  the  same  as  those  which  were  discussed  in  her  former 
interview  with  Bossuet  already  mentioned,  she  adds,  "  I 
went  to  see  the  Bishop  of  Chalons  again.  I  found  him 
alone,  and  had  a  free  conversation  with  him.  Although 
some  persons  had  tried  to  prejudice  him  against  me,  he 
appeared  to  be  well  satisfied,  and.  repeated  several  times  that 
he  saw  nothing  which  required  to  be  changed,  either  in  my 
views  of  prayer,  or  in  any  thing  else.  He  suggested,  how- 
ever, that,  in  consequence  of  the  existing  state  of  things,  it 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  179 

might  be  well  for  me  to  live  in  a  manner  as  retired  as 
possible,  but  that,  in  other  respects,  I  should  go  on  as  I  had 
done ;  and  said,  that  he  would  pray  to  God  to  augment  his 
goodness  towards  me." 

11.  She  had  not  as  yet  seen  the  other  commissioner, 
Monsieur  Tronson,  who  was  too  much  out  of  health  to  be 
present  at  the  first  meeting.  It  was  thought  proper,  there- 
fore, that  she  should  visit  him  at  his  country  residence  at 
the  village  of  Issy,  not  far  from  Paris.  She  was  attended 
there  by  the  Duke  of  Chevreuse.  Unrestrained  by  that 
agitation  and  confusion  of  spirit  which  troubled  her  in  the  too 
animated  and  violent  conversations  of  Bossuet,  she  says,  "  I 
conversed  with  Monsieur  Tronson  with  all  the  freedom  im- 
aginable. He  was  very  particular  and  exact  in  his  exam- 
inations, more  so  than  the  others.  Formal  questions  were 
put,  and  answers  corresponding  to  them  were  given,  which 
were  taken  down  in  writing  by  the  Duke  of  Chevreuse. 
When  the  examination  was  completed,  the  duke  made  the 
remark  to  Monsieur  Tronson,  '  You  cannot  fail  to  see,  sir,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  the  evidences  of  her  sincerity  and  upright- 
ness.' He  answered,  '  I  feel  it  well.'  And  that  expression, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  was  not  unworthy  of  this  dis- 
tinguished servant  of  God,  who  judged,  in  relation  to  the 
matter  before  him,  not  only  by  his  understanding,  but  by  the 
feelings  of  his  heart.  I  then  took  my  leave,  with  the  conso- 
lation of  believing,  from  his  appearance  at  least,  that  Mon- 
sieur Tronson  was  well  satisfied,  although  a  forged  letter 
against  me  had  been  sent  to  him." 

12.  Although  Bossuet  was,  in  general,  satisfied  with  the 
statements  and  explanations  which  were  made  in  his  previous 
and  private  interviews  with  Madame  Guyon,  he  was  not 
entirely  so.  There  were  some  things  in  which  the  parties 
were  distinctly  at  variance  with  each  other.  She  says  ex- 
pressly, in  reference  to  what  took  place  at  those  interviews, 


L80  LIFE    AX1>    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  The  sincerity  of  spirit,  of  which  I  made  a  profession,  did  not 
allow  me  to  hide  from  him,  that  there  were  some  things  in 
which  I  could  not  obey  him,  how  great  a  desire  soever  I  had 
to  do  it."  And  at  the  present  time  also,  and  after  these 
more  recent  conferences,  they  did  not  yet  fully  agree ;  per- 
haps less  so  than  ever  before. 

But  such  were  the  favorable  sentiments  of  De  Noailles 
and  Tronson  towards  her,  that  no  condemnation  of  any  kind 
was  passed  at  this  time.  Still  the  public  voice,  generally 
clamorous  beyond  what  is  just,  was  not  silenced  ;  and  proba- 
bly for  this  reason  in  particular  among  others,  because  it  was 
understood  that  Bossuet  was  not  entirely  satisfied. 

13.  "  After  these  successive  examinations,"  says  Madame 
Guyon,  "  which  resulted  in  proving  nothing  against  me,  it 
would  have  been  a  natural  supposition,  that  my  opposers 
would  leave  me  at  peace.  But  it  was  quite  otherwise.  So 
far  from  being  propitiated,  either  by  the  defect  of  evidences 
against  me,  or  by  the  evidences  in  my  favor,  they  seemed 
to  be  inspired  with  new  energy  in  their  hostile  efforts. 
Nothing  was  proved  ;  but  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  was  not  en- 
tirely satisfied.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  seemed  to  me 
best  to  propose  to  him  to  put  myself  for  a  time  under  his 
more  immediate  inspection.  I  made  the  offer  to  take  up  my 
residence  within  the  limits  of  his  diocese,  in  some  religious 
house  or  community,  in  order  that  he  might  become  the 
better  acquainted  with  me.  He  seemed  pleased  with  the 
plan,  and  proposed  that  I  should  become  for  a  time  a  tem- 
porary resident  or  boarder  in  the  Convent  of  St.  Mary,  in 
the  town  of  Meaux,  [where  he  himself  generally  resided.] 
Perhaps  his  readiness  to  accept  this  proposal  was  not  alto- 
gether disinterested.  Supposing  that,  if  it  were  carried 
into  effect,  it  would  tend  to  allay  the  existing  excitement 
and  alarm,  he  remarked  to  Mother  Elizabeth  Pickard,  the 
prioress  of  flip,  oonvpnt.  into  which  T  pnterpfl,  that  il   would 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  181 

be  as  good  to  him  as  the  archbishopric  of  Paris  or  a  cardi- 
nal's hat.  When  she  told  me  of  it,  I  replied,  God  will  not 
permit  him  to  have  either  the  one  or  the  other." 

The  result  verified  the  remark.  It  was  not  a  remark 
which  was  instigated  by  mere  impulse,  but  was  probably 
founded  on  her  profound  religious  insight  into  the  divine 
providences,  taken  in  connection  with  her  knowledge  of  the 
bishop's  character,  and  of  the  opposing  influences  which  sur- 
rounded him.     Bossuet  had  no  cardinal's  hat. 

14.  Thus  terminated  the  business  of  the  commission, 
so  far  as  Madame  Guyon  was  concerned ;  at  least  for 
the  present.  Such,  however,  was  the  interest  felt,  in  re- 
lation to  the  principles  involved  in  the  subject  of  inward 
experience,  that  it  seemed  to  the  commissioners,  that  some- 
thing further  remained  to  be  done.  The  king,  at  least, 
would  expect  them  to  do  something  more.  They  agreed, 
therefore,  after  they  had  finished  their  business  with  Madame 
Guyon,  to  continue  their  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering such  topics,  in  the  hopes  that  something  might  be 
agreed  upon,  which  should  furnish  a  common  basis  of  belief 
and  action. 

On  account  of  the  ill  health  of  Monsieur  Tronson,  their 
conferences  were  continued  at  his  country  residence,  in  the 
village  of  Issy.  They  met  a  number  of  times.  The  result 
of  their  deliberations,  which  came  before  the  public  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months,  was  the  document,  which  was  after- 
wards so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  debates  of  that  period, 
under  the  denomination  of  the  Articles  of  Issy. 

15.  These  celebrated  articles,  which  are  thirty-four  in 
number,  indicate,  so  far  as  they  go,  the  views  of  the  authors 
of  them  on  the  subject  of  pure  love,  which  was  the  expres- 
sion, at  that  period,  for  the  highest  inward  experience.  If 
our  limits  allowed,  we  should  think  it  well  to  copy  them. 
They  are  drawn  up  with   care,  and  express,  in   a  manner 

vol.  it.  1 6 


182  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

unexceptionable,  some  of  the  leading  ideas  in  the  doctrines 
of  a  holy  life.  If  they  are  defective,  it  is  not  so  much  by 
what  they  say,  as  by  what  they  leave  unsaid.  They  express 
the  truth,  but  not  the  whole  truth.  That  is  to  say,  there 
are  some  points  in  inward  experience  which  they  do  not 
reach ;  nor  do  they  profess  to  do  so.  It  seems  to  have  been 
with  this  view  of  them,  that  Madame  Guyon  gave  her 
assent  to  them,  when  they  were  presented  to  her  some  time 
after  this. 

16.  The  ancient  town  of  Meaux  is  situated  twenty-five 
miles  north-east  from  Paris,  on  the  river  Marne.  For  that 
place,  in  accordance  with  her  arrangements  with  Bossuet, 
Madame  Guyon  set  out  in  the  month  of  January,  1695.  She 
was  accompanied  by  the  faithful  maid-servant,  La  Gautiere, 
who  had  shared  in  her  labors  and  travels  for  the  past 
fourteen  years.  The  weather  was  unpropitious,  the  season 
severe.  The  conveyance  in  which  they  travelled,  became 
involved  in  the  snows,  and  could  not  at  once  be  extricated  ; 
so  that  they  were  detained  some  hours,  and  suffered  much 
from  the  cold. 

Being  obliged  to  leave  the  carriage,  "we  sat  upon  the 
snow,"  she  says,  "  resigned  to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  expect- 
ing nothing  but  death.  The  snow  melted  upon  our  gar- 
ments ;  and  both  of  us,  the  girl  and  myself,  were  exceed- 
ingly chilled ;  but  I  never  had  more  tranquillity  of  mind. 
My  poor  maid  was  also  entirely  submissive  and  quiet, 
although  we  saw  no  likelihood  of  any  one  coming  to  our 
succor,  and  were  sure  of  dying  if  we  remained  there.  Occa- 
sions like  these  are  such  as  show  whether  we  are  perfectly 
resigned  to  God  or  not.  At  length  some  wagoners  came 
up,  who  with  difficulty  drew  us  through  the  drift.  It  was 
ten  o'clock  at  night  when  we  arrived  at  Meaux.  The  people 
of  the  convent,  who  had  received  some  notice  of  our  coming, 
had  given  over  expecting  us,  and  had  retired  to  rest." 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  183 

After  considerable  delay,  which  added  to  their  sufferings, 
the  nuns  were  called  up,  the  bishop  was  informed  of  their 
arrival,  and  they  were  formally  admitted. 

17.  In  this  part  of  her  Narrative,  speaking  of  Bossuet, 
a  man  so  distinguished  that  we  love  to  learn  every  thing  we 
can  in  respect  to  him,  Madame  Guyon  says,  "  He  had  his 
good  intervals,  but  he  was  not  beyond  the  reach  of  personal 
and  interested  motives.  And  in  regard  to  myself,  I  cannot 
doubt,  that  he  was  under  the  influence  of  persons  who  en- 
deavored to  excite  him  against  me." 

In  this  remark  she  probably  had  in  mind  an  observation, 
implicating  her  sincerity,  which  was  said  to  have  dropped 
from  him.  It  was,  that  her  coming  to  Meaux  so  promptly, 
and  in  such  uncomfortable  weather,  was  a  mere  artifice; 
indicating  a  readiness  on  her  part  to  fall  in  with  his  wishes, 
and  to  take  a  proper  course,  which  did  not  really  exist. 

The  charge  of  artifice,  or  rather  of  hypocrisy,  coming  from 
a  man  of  so  high  character,  naturally  arrested  her  attention. 
It  was  perhaps  a  false,  or  at  least  an  exaggerated  report ;  but 
she  believed  it,  at  the  time,  to  be  true.  She  makes  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  upon  it :  — 

18.  "  Those  men,  who  look  at  the  tree  with  an  evil  eye, 
account  its  fruits  to  be  evil.  I  am  said  to  be  charged  with 
being  a  hypocrite.  But  by  what  evidence  is  the  charge 
supported  ?  It  is  certainly  a  strange  hypocrisy,  which  volun 
tarily  spends  its  life  in  suffering ;  which  endures  the  cross 
in  its  various  forms,  the  calumny,  the  poverty,  the  persecu- 
tion, and  every  kind  of  affliction,  without  any  reference  to 
worldly  advantages.  I  think  one  has  never  seen  such  an 
hypocrisy  as  this  before. 

"  So  far  as  I  understand  the  subject,  hypocrites  have  gen- 
erally two  objects  in  view  :  one  is  to  acquire  money,  the  other 
is  to  acquire  popularity.  If  such  are  the  leading  elements 
involved  in  hypocrisy,  I  must  do  myself  the  justice  to  say, 


184  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

that  I  disclaim  any  acquaintance  with  it.  I  call  God  to 
witness,  that  I  would  not  have  endured  what  it  has  been  my 
lot  to  endure,  if  by  so  doing  I  could  have  been  made  empress 
of  the  whole  earth,  or  have  been  canonized  while  living.  It 
was  not  earth,  but  God,  that  called  me.  I  heard  a  voice, 
which  I  could  not  disobey.  I  desired  to  please  God  alone ; 
and  I  sought  him,  not  for  what  he  might  give  me,  but  only 
for  himself.  I  had  rather  die,  than  do  any  thing  against  his 
will.  This  is  the  sentiment  of  my  heart ;  a  sentiment  which 
no  persecutions,  no  trials,  have  made  me  alter. 

"  It  is  true,  that  my  feeble  nature  has  sometimes  been 
greatly  burdened.  Sorrows  have  come  in  upon  me,  like  a 
flood.  I  have  been  obliged  to  say  with  the  Psalmist,  All  thy 
waves  and  thy  billows  have  gone  over  me  ;  and  with  Jere- 
miah, Thou  hast  caused  the  arrows  of  thy  quiver  to  enter  into 
my  reins.  Being  accounted  by  everybody  a  transgressor,  I 
was  made  to  walk  in  the  path  of  my  suffering  Saviour,  who 
was  condemned  by  the  sovereign  pontiff,  by  the  chief  priests, 
the  doctors  of  the  law,  and  the  judges  deputed  by  the  Ro- 
mans. But  the  love  of  God  rendered  my  sorrows  sweet. 
His  invisible  hand  has  supported  me.  My  purpose  has  re- 
mained unchanged.  Happy  are  they  who  are  sharers  with 
Christ  in  suffering." 

THE  ACQUIESCENCE  OF  PURE  LOVE. 

[From  the  Translations  of  her  Poems  by  Cowper.] 

Love  !    if  thy  destined  sacrifice  am  I, 
Come,  slay  thy  victim,  and  prepare  thy  fires  ; 
Plunged  in  thy  depths  of  mercy,  let  me  die 
The  death,  which  every  soul  that  lives,  desires. 

I  watch  my  hours,  and  see  them  fleet  away ; 
The  time  is  long  that  I  have  languish'd  here ; 


OP    MADAME  GUYON.  186 

Yet  all  my  thoughts  thy  purposes  obey, 
With  no  reluctance,  cheerful  and  sincere. 

To  me  't  is  equal,  whether  love  ordain 
My  life  or  death,  appoint  me  pain  or  ease  ; 
My  soul  perceives  no  real  ill  in  pain ; 
In  ease  or  health  no  real  good  she  sees. 

One  good  she  covets,  and  that  good  alone, 
To  choose  thy  will,  from  selfish  bias  free ; 
And  to  prefer  a  cottage  to  a  throne, 
And  grief  to  comfort,  if  it  pleases  thee. 

That  we  should  hear  the  cross  is  thy  command, 
Die  to  the  world,  and  live  to  self  no  more ; 
Suffer,  unmoved,  beneath  the  rudest  hand ; 
When  shipwreck'd  pleased,  as  when  upon  the  shore. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

1695.  Sickness.  Visited  by  Bossuet  at  tlie  convent.  Singular 
conversation  between  them.  Reference  to  a  sermon  of  Bossuet. 
Madame  Guyon  receives  recommendations  from  him  and  from 
the  prioress  and  nuns  of  the  convent.  Leaves  Meaux  for  Paris. 
Excitement  occasioned  by  her  return.  Conceals  herself  for  five 
months.  Is  seized  by  order  of  the  king,  and  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  of  Vincennes.     State  of  her  mind.     Poems. 

In  the  convent  of  St.  Mary  at  Meaux,  she  remained  six 
months  ;  not  as  a  prisoner,  but  as  a  voluntary  resident.  She 
went  there,  it  is  true,  at  the  suggestion  and  request  of  Bos- 
suet ;  but  she  was  entirely  voluntary  in  her  acquiescence. 
It  was  suggested  by  Bossuet,  that  it  might  be  desirable  for 
her  to  remain  there  three  months ;  but,  further  than  that, 
there  was  no  limitation  of  time  either  made  or  suggested; 
but  she  was  left  free  to  leave,  whenever  she  pleased.  From 
the  middle  of  January  to  the  last  of  February,  she  was  sick. 
It  was  after  her  recovery  that  Bossuet  came  one  day  to  the 
convent,  and  showed  to  her  a  Pastoral  Ordinance  and  Letter, 
(the  same  undoubtedly  which  is  usually  prefixed  to  his  work, 
entitled,  Instructions  on  Prayer,*)  in  which  he  had  noticed 
and  condemned  some  of  the  prevalent  religious  errors,  as  he 
considered  them. 

2.  He  asked  her  to  add  her  signature  to  the  letter,  accom- 
panied by  certain  statements  which  would  involve  the  idea 

*  Instruction  sur  les  Etats  d'Oraison. 


LIFE,    ETC.  187 

that  she  had  fallen  into  the  very  errors  named  in  it.  To 
this  she  very  naturally  objected.  She  said,  however,  that 
she  would  add  at  the  bottom  of  his  pastoral  letter  whatever 
she  could  properly  place  there.  She  accordingly  wrote  a  few 
words,  expressive  probably  of  her  desire  and  intention  to 
know  and  to  teach  the  truth  only,  and  of  her  readiness  to 
submit  to  the  decisions  of  the  church,  and  added  her  name. 
Bossuet,  taking  up  the  paper,  said  it  was  very  well,  with  the 
exception  that  she  did  not  say,  as  she  ought  to  have  done, 
that  she  was  a  heretic ;  —  adding,  that  it  was  his  desire  and 
expectation,  that  she  would  acknowledge  herself  guilty  of  all 
the  errors  condemned  in  the  Pastoral  Letter. 

"  I  am  quite  certain,  sir,"  replied  Madame  Guyon,  "  that 
you  say  this  merely  to  try  my  feelings.  I  came  into  your 
diocese,  and  placed  myself  under  your  care,  in  order  that 
you  might  the  more  readily  and  fully  ascertain  my  character 
and  life.  Is  it  possible  that  a  prelate  will  so  abuse  the  good 
faith  thus  reposed  in  him,  as  to  try  to  compel  me  to  do  things 
which  my  conscience  requires  me  not  to  do  ?  I  hoped  to 
find  in  you  a  father  ;  and  I  trust  that  I  shall  not  be  de- 
ceived." 

3.  "lama  father,"  said  Bossuet ;  "but  I  am  a  father  of 
the  church.  But,  in  short,  it  is  not  a  question  of  words.  It 
is  not  a  thing  to  be  talked  about,  but  to  be  done.  All  I  can 
say  is,  if  you  do  not  sign  what  I  require,  I  will  come  with 
witnesses ;  and,  after  having  admonished  you  before  them,  I 
will  inform  the  church  of  you,  and  we  will  cut  you  off  as  we 
are  directed  in  the  gospel." 

"Then,"  said  Madame  Guyon,  "I  can  appeal  to  God 
alone  as  the  witness  of  my  sincerity.  I  have  nothing  farther 
to  say.  I  am  ready  to  suffer  for  him.  And  I  hope  he  will 
grant  me  the  favor  to  let  me  do  nothing  against  my  con- 
science. I  say  this,  I  hope,  without  departing  from  the 
respect  I  owe  to  you  as  a  bishop." 


188  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Bossuet,  finding  her  resolute,  then  proposed,  that  sh*> 
should  admit  and  declare,  that  there  were  errors  in  the 
Latin  work  of  La  Combe  on  inward  experience.  This  also 
she  refused ;  and  he  turned  and  went  away  in  anger. 

4.  The  nuns  of  St.  Mary  stood  by,  and  beheld  this  inter- 
view with  great  interest,  and  with  some  degree  of  astonish- 
ment. The  prioress  remarked  to  Madame  Guyon,  that  her 
too  great  mildness  emboldened  the  bishop  to  treat  her  in 
that  rough  manner ;  adding,  that  his  mind  was  of  such  a 
cast,  that  he  was  apt  to  be  violent  with  those  who  were 
meek  and  quiet,  but  more  gentle  with  those  who  were  coura- 
geous and  firm  of  purpose. 

He  came  afterwards  in  the  same  spirit,  and  with  the  same 
demands  ;  and  met  with  the  same  prompt  refusal.  He  then, 
yielding  either  to  his  sense  of  justice,  or  to  the  necessity  of 
the  case,  took  a  different  course.  He  gave  Madame  Guyon 
to  understand,  although  he  was  not  himself  altogether  satis- 
fied with  her  views,  that  he  should  have  less  to  say,  and 
should  express  less  dissatisfaction,  if  her  enemies  would  per- 
mit him  to  rest.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  prioress  of  the 
convent,  he  said  expressly  that  "  he  had  examined  the  writ- 
ings of  Madame  Guyon  with  great  care,  and  found  in  them 
nothing  censurable,  with  the  exception  of  some  terms  which 
were  not  wholly  conformed  to  the  strictness  of  theology ;  but 
that  a  woman  was  not  expected  to  be  a  theologian." 

At  a  certain  time,  when  the  nuns  and  the  prioress  were 
conversing  with  him  about  her,  he  said,  "  I  regard  her  just 
as  you  do ;  I  see  nothing  wrong  in  her  conduct ;  but  her 
enemies  torment  me,  and  wish  me  to  find  evil  in  her."  He 
testified  also  to  the  archbishops  of  Paris  and  Sens,  that  he 
esteemed  her  much,  and  had  been  edified  by  her. 

5.  Madame  Guyon  understood  well  the  intellectual  power 
of  Bossuet.  He  was  the  first  orator  in  France ;  perhaps 
the  first  in  the  world  at  that  time.     She  speaks  of  a  sermon 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  189 

which  she  heard  him  preach  at  Meaux,  as  one  of  astonishing 
power.  It  arrested  her  attention  the  more,  because  it  was 
on  the  subject  the  most  interesting  to  her,  that  of  the  higher 
forms  of  inward  experience.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  the  mass.  "  He  stated  things  in  it,"  she  says, 
"much  more  strongly  than  I  had  myself  done.  He  said, 
that  he  was  not  master  of  himself  under  the  view  which  was 
then  spread  around  him  of  those  awful  mysteries  ;  and  that, 
under  such  circumstances,  he  was  obliged  to  confess  and 
announce  the  great  truths  of  God,  even  if  they  should  be 
against  and  should  condemn  himself." 

The  prioress  of  the  convent  was  present  at  this  time. 
After  the  sermon,  she  asked  Bossuet,  how  he  could  persecute 
Madame  Guyon,  as  he  did,  when  it  was  obvious  that  he  him- 
self preached  the  same  sentiments.  He  answered,  that  it 
was  not  any  thing  in  himself  which  did  it,  but  the  violence 
of  her  enemies. 

6.  In  these  more  propitious  dispositions,  after  nearly  six 
months'  residence  at  Meaux,  he  gave  her  a  paper  or  certifi- 
cate with  his  name  subscribed,  in  which,  while  he  did  not 
explicitly  condemn  her  doctrines,  and  made  indeed  but  slight 
references  to  them,  he  spoke  in  very  favorable  terms  of  her 
character  and  conduct.  As  the  time  of  her  departure  from 
Meaux  approached,  the  prioress  and  nuns  of  the  convent, 
who  esteemed  her  very  much,  gave  her  another  certificate. 
It  was  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  We,  the  prioress  and  nuns  of  the  Visitation  of  St.  Mary 
of  Meaux,  certify,  that  Madame  Guyon,  having  lived  in  our 
house,  by  order  of  our  Lord  Bishop  of  Meaux,  our  illustrious 
prelate  and  superior,  during  the  space  of  six  months,  far  from 
giving  us  any  cause  of  trouble  or  uneasiness,  has  afforded  us 
much  edification.  We  have  remarked,  in  all  her  conduct  and 
in  all  her  words,  a  great  regularity,  simplicity,  sincerity,  mor- 
tification, meekness,  and  Christian  patience ;  a  true  devotion 


190  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

and  esteem  for  whatever  pertains  to  our  most  holy  faith, 
especially  the  mystery  of  the  incarnation  and  of  the  holy 
infancy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  would  be  a  favor 
and  of  great  satisfaction  to  our  whole  community,  if  the 
said  lady  would  choose,  as  a  place  of  retreat,  to  spend  the 
rest  of  her  days  in  our  house.  This  protestation  is  made 
without  any  other  view  than  that  of  giving  testimony  to  the 
truth. 

"  Done  this  7th  of  July,  and  signed, 

"  Frances  Elizabeth  Le  Pickard,  Prioress 

Sister  Magdalen  Aimee  Gueton. 

Sister  Claude  Marie  Amouri." 

7.  "  As  I  had  now  been  at  Meaux,"  says  Madame  Guyon, 
six  months,  though  I  had  engaged  to  stay  there  only  three, 
I  asked  the  bishop  if  he  desired  any  thing  further  from  me. 
He  said,  he  did  not.  I  then  told  him,  that  I  had  now  need 
to  go  to  Bourbon  ;  and  asked  him  if  it  would  be  agreeable 
to  him,  if  I  should  return  with  the  expectation  of  spending 
the  remainder  of  my  days  with  the  good  nuns  of  the  convent 
of  St.  Mary ;  adding,  in  relation  to  them,  that  our  spirits 
had  been  cemented  in  the  bonds  of  mutual  love. 

"  He  appeared  to  be  much  pleased  with  the  suggestion, 
and  said  that  the  nuns  had  been  much  edified  by  me,  and 
that  he  should  always  receive  me  with  pleasure.  In  con- 
nection with  some  remarks  in  relation  to  my  departure,  I 
told  him,  that  either  my  daughter,  the  Countess  of  Vaux,  or 
some  of  my  friends,  would  come  for  me,  and  take  me  away. 
On  hearing  this,  he  turned  to  Mother  Pickard,  the  prioress, 
and  said  to  her,  that  he  was  about  leaving  on  a  visit  to 
Paris  ;  and  that  he  was  very  desirous,  if  the  ladies  referred 
to  should  come,  that  they  should  be  received  well,  and  should 
be  lodged  in  their  house,  as  long  as  they  might  be  willing  to 
stay." 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  191 

On  the  eighth  day  of  July,  about  the  middle  of  the  day, 
the  Duchess  of  Mortemar,  one  of  the  most  intimate  friends 
of  Madame  Guyon,  came  to  the  convent,  accompanied  by  her 
daughter,  Madame  de  Morstein.  They  remained  till  the 
afternoon  of  the  next  day ;  and  then  returned,  in  company 
with  Madame  Guyon,  to  Paris.  At  what  house  she  first 
took  up  her  residence  there,  is  not  expressly  said;  but  the 
circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  expressions  she  employs, 
indicate  that  it  was  at  the  house  of  her  daughter. 

8.  It  was  no  sooner  known,  that  she  was  again  in  Paris, 
than  the  whole  city  seemed  to  be  in  an  uproar.  Her  ene- 
mies started  at  once  into  life.  The  king  was  alarmed ; 
Madame  de  Maintenon,  carried  away  by  the  popular  cur- 
rent, and  ceasing  to  retain  her  former  favorable  sentiments, 
was  angry ;  and  Bossuet  himself,  so  far  as  he  was  accessible 
to  the  influences  of  personal  interest,  had  reason  to  fear,  that 
he  had  committed  an  error  by  too  great  lenity.  Certain  it 
is,  that  he  took  the  singular  course,  hardly  reconcilable  with 
a  high  sense  of  honor,  of  writing  to  her,  and  requesting  her 
to  return  the  certificate,  which,  but  just  before,  he  had  volun- 
tarily given. 

In  answer  to  the  application  for  this  certificate,  which 
seemed  to  Madame  Guyon  to  be  a  matter  of  considerable 
consequence,  she  wrote  to  the  prioress  of  the  convent  at 
Meaux,  that  she  had  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  some  mem- 
bers of  her  family ;  that  her  friends,  after  the  various  attacks 
which  had  been  made  upon  her  character,  had  need  of  it  for 
her  vindication  ;  and,  as  they  had  now  possession  of  it,  there 
was  no  reason  to  think  they  would  be  willing  to  part  with  it. 
From  the  time  of  her  refusal  to  return  this  certificate,  I 
think  we  may  date  a  more  distinct  and  settled  aversion  to 
her  on  the  part  of  Bossuet. 

9.  The  party  against  her  was  so  violent,  that  it  was  evi- 
dent she  would  not  be  able  to  remain  at  large  for  any  length 


192  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  time.  Finding  it  unsafe  for  her  to  remain  at  the  house  of 
her  daughter,  she  hid  herself  for  a  few  days  at  the  house 
of  one  of  her  friends  in  the  Fauxbourg  St.  Germain.  Con- 
cealing her  intentions  as  much  as  possible,  she  soon  after 
obtained  an  obscure  tenement  in  the  Fauxbourg  St.  Antoine, 
where  she  remained  concealed  with  her  maid-servant,  La 
Gautiere,  about  five  months.  "  Here,"  she  says,  "  I  passed 
the  day  in  great  solitude,  in  reading,  in  praying  to  God,  and 
working." 

10.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  police  officers  of  Paris  had 
orders  to  ascertain  where  she  was.  On  the  27th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1695,  Monsieur  des  Grez,  one  of  the  members  of  the 
police,  ascertained  her  lodgings,  and  arrested  her.  She  was 
kept  in  custody  three  days,  awaiting  the  decision  of  the 
question,  whether  she  should  be  imprisoned  in  a  convent,  or 
in  one  of  the  state  prisons.  It  was  a  question  of  so  much 
perplexity,  that  it  seemed  necessary  to  consult  M.  de  Noailles, 
who  had  recently  been  appointed  archbishop  of  Paris.  Ac- 
cordingly, Madame  de  Maintenon  wrote  to  him  as  follows : 
— "  The  king  orders  me,  sir,  to  inform  you,  that  Madame 
Guyon  is  arrested.  What  would  you  think  it  best  to  do 
with  this  woman,  with  her  friends,  and  with  her  papers  ? 
The  king  will  be  here,  [at  Versailles,]  all  the  morning. 
Write  to  him  immediately." 

The  result  was,  so  strong  was  the  feeling  against  her,  and 
so  great  was  the  fear  of  her  influence,  that  she  was  shut  up, 
by  the  order  of  Louis,  in  one  of  the  places  of  confinement  in 
the  celebrated  castle  of  Vincennes. 

11.  This  castle,  situated  in  the  forest  of  Vincennes  near 
Paris,  is  used  both  as  a  military  fortress  and  as  a  state 
prison,  and  is  hardly  less  celebrated  than  the  Bastille.  It 
is  often  mentioned  in  history.  Many,  in  earlier  and  in  later 
times,  have  been  the  agonizing  sorrows  and  the  scenes  of 
blood  it  has  witnessed. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  193 

The  imprisonment  of  Madame  Guyon  was  considered  a 
matter  of  so  much  consequence,  that  the  Marquis  of  Dangeau, 
who  held  at  this  time  an  important  situation  at  the  court  of 
Louis  Fourteenth,  and  who  kept  a  chronicle  or  annals  of  the 
court  from  the  year  1684  to  1720,  mentions  it,  among  the  other 
memorable  things  of  that  period,  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  1696,  Jan.  20th. — The  king  caused  Madame  Guyon  to  be 
arrested  a  few  days  ago,  and  sent  to  the  castle  of  Vincennes, 
where  she  will  be  strictly  guarded,  apparently  for  a  long 
time.  She  is  accused  of  having  maintained,  both  by  word 
of  mouth  and  by  her  writings,  a  very  dangerous  doctrine, 
and  one  which  nearly  approaches  to  heresy.  She  has  im- 
posed upon  many  persons  of  eminent  virtue.  A  long  search 
was  made  for  her,  before  she  could  be  taken.  She  was 
found  in  the  Fauxbourg  of  St.  Antoine  in  great  conceal- 
ment." 

12.  In  this  her  second  imprisonment,  Madame  Guyon 
had  the  same  inward  supports  which  had  sustained  her  at 
other  times.  Her  faithful  maid,  La  Gautiere,  who  had 
adopted  her  principles  and  been  baptized  into  her  spirit,  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned  with  her.  In  her  subsequent  im- 
prisonment in  the  Bastille,  they  were  separated  from  each 
other.  In  the  prison  of  Vincennes,  they  occupied  the  same 
cell,  which  was  a  great  consolation. 

13.  She  was  subject  here,  as  she  had  previously  been,  to 
a  close  examination.  It  was  conducted  by  Monsieur  de  la 
Reine,  of  whom  I  find  nothing  said,  which  indicates  by  what 
authority  or  in  what  capacity  he  acted. 

In  regard  to  Father  La  Combe,  her  former  friend  and 
fellow-sufferer,  who  was  now  imprisoned  in  a  distant  place 
for  the  sake  of  the  gospel,  she  declared,  on  her  examination, 
in  opposition  to  the  unfounded  and  unceasing  insinuations  of 
her  enemies,  that  her  long  intercourse  with  him  had  never 
been  sullied  by  any  thing  opposite  to  the  innocence  of  re- 

VOL.  II.  17 


194  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ligion.  She  said,  that  she  regarded  him  as  an  eminently 
holy  man ;  and  frankly  admitted,  that,  ever  since  the  time 
of  his  imprisonment,  she  had  kept  up  a  correspondence  with 
him. 

In  regard  to  her  doctrines,  she  answered  her  examiner, 
that  she  might  have  been  wrong  in  particular  expressions ; 
but  she  could  not  acknowledge,  with  her  present  views,  that 
she  had  ever  held  false  doctrines.  She  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  submit  to  any  condemnation  of  her  works,  founded 
upon  the  imperfection  and  erroneous  tendencies  of  her  lan- 
guage ;  but  would  not  deny  any  thing  in  them  in  the  sense 
in  which  she  understood  it,  and  in  which  she  meant  it  to  be 
understood.  In  this  sense  she  expressed  herself  resolute  in 
making  no  retractions  whatever. 

Under  such  circumstances,  there  was,  of  course,  but  little 
prospect  of  any  immediate  release  from  her  imprisonment. 

14.  In  connection  with  these  examinations,  which  con- 
tinued a  number  of  days,  a  little  incident  occurred,  which 
illustrates  the  application  of  her  religious  principles.  She 
narrates,  that,  on  a  certain  day,  probably  through  some  fail- 
ure of  her  usual  inward  recollection,  she  had  become  a  little 
anxious,  and  undertook  to  study  and  frame  her  answers 
beforehand.  The  consequence  was  such  as  may  be  generally 
expected,  when  we  depart  from  that  simplicity  of  spirit 
which  is  "  careful  for  nothing."  She  says,  "  I  answered 
badly.  God,  who  had  so  often  caused  me  to  answer  difficult 
and  perplexing  questions  with  much  facility  and  presence  of 
mind,  punished  me  now,  even  by  stopping  me  short  on  easy 
matters  with  confusion.  It  served  to  show  me  the  inutility 
of  our  arrangements  on  such  occasions,  [meaning  undoubt- 
edly such  arrangements  as  originate  in  the  spirit  of  distrust,"] 
and  the  safety  of  trusting  in  God. 

"  Those  who  depend  chiefly  on  human  reason  are  apt  to 
say,  that  it  is  necessary  to  look  before  us,  and  to  make  our 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  195 

preparations  ;  and  that  to  do  otherwise,  is  to  expect  miracles, 
and  to  tempt  God.  Leaving  others  to  do  as  they  think  best, 
I  must  say  for  myself,  that  I  find  no  safety  but  in  resigning 
myself  entirely  to  God  ;  doing  what  he  calls  me  to  do  in  the 
moment  of  action,  and  leaving  every  thing  with  him  in  sub- 
mission and  humble  faith.  The  Scriptures,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  abound  everywhere  with  texts  enforcing  such  a  resig- 
nation. '  Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord,'  says  the  Psalmist, 
1  trust  also  in  him,  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass.  And  he 
shall  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light,  and  thy 
judgment  as  the  noon-day f  Ps.  xxxvii.  5,  6.  The  Saviour, 
speaking  of  those,  who  are  brought  before  kings  and  rulers  for 
his  name's  sake,  says,  c  Settle  it,  therefore,  in  your  hearts, 
not  to  meditate  before  what  ye  shall  answer  ;  — for  I  will 
give  you  a  mouth  which  all  your  adversaries  shall  not  be 
able  to  gainsay  nor  resist.9  God  does  not  lay  a  snare  for  us 
in  such  passages.  He  consults  our  good,  when  he  requires 
us  to  renounce  all  merely  human  foresight  and  policy,  and 
trust  wholly  in  him/ 

15.  Speaking  of  her  general  state  of  mind  in  this  prison, 
she  says,  "  I  passed  my  time  in  great  peace,  content  to  spend 
the  remainder  of  my  life  there,  if  such  should  be  the  will 
of  God.  I  employed  part  of  my  time  in  writing  religious 
songs.  I,  and  my  maid  La  Gautiere,  who  was  with  me  in 
prison,  committed  them  to  heart,  as  fast  as  I  made  them. 
Together  we  sang  praises  to  thee,  O  our  God !  It  some- 
times seemed  to  me  as  if  I  were  a  little  bird  whom  the  Lord 
had  placed  in  a  cage,  and  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  now  but 
to  sing.  The  joy  of  my  heart  gave  a  brightness  to  the  ob- 
jects around  me.  The  stones  of  my  prison  looked  in  my 
eyes  like  rubies.  I  esteemed  them  more  than  all  the  gaudy 
brilliancies  of  a  vain  world.  My  heart  was  full  of  that  joy 
which  thou  givest  to  them  who  love  thee  in  the  midst  of 
their  greatest  crosses." 


196  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

16.  Quite  a  number  of  her  poems  have  allusion  to  her 
imprisonment.  It  was  natural  that  they  should.  As  it  was 
at  this  period  that  she  wrote  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
volumes  in  verse  which  have  been  since  published,  we  pro- 
pose to  insert  a  number  of  her  poems  here.  They  illustrate 
the  state  of  her  mind,  and  throw  some  light  upon  her  char- 
acter and  doctrines. 

PRISONS   DO   NOT   EXCLUDE   GOD. 

Strong  are  the  walls  around  me, 

That  hold  me  all  the  day ; 
But  they  who  thus  have  bound  me, 

Cannot  keep  God  away : 
My  very  dungeon  walls  are  dear, 
Because  the  God  I  love  is  here. 

They  know,  who  thus  oppress  me, 

'T  is  hard  to  be  alone ; 
But  know  not,  One  can  bless  me, 

Who  comes  through  bars  and  stone  : 
He  makes  my  dungeon's  darkness  bright, 
And  fills  my  bosom  with  delight. 

Thy  love,  0  God  !  restores  me 

From  sighs  and  tears  to  praise ; 
And  deep  my  soul  adores  thee, 

Nor  thinks  of  time  or  place : 
I  ask  no  more,  in  good  or  ill, 
But  union  with  thy  holy  will. 

'T  is  that  which  makes  my  treasure, 

*T  is  that  which  brings  my  gain ; 
Converting  woe  to  pleasure, 

And  reaping  joy  from  pain. 
Oh,  't  is  enough,  whate'er  befall, 
To  know,  that  God  is  All  in  All. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  197 

GOD    KNOWN   BY   LOVING   HIM. 

'T  is  not  the  skill  of  human  art, 

Which  gives  me  power  my  God  to  know ; 

The  sacred  lessons  of  the  heart 
Come  not  from  instruments  below. 

Love  is  my  teacher.    He  can  tell 

The  wonders  that  he  learnt  above : 
No  other  master  knows  so  well ;  — 

'T  is  Love  alone  can  tell  of  Love. 

Oh !  then,  of  God  if  thou  wouldst  learn, 

His  wisdom,  goodness,  glory  see  ; 
All  human  arts  and  knowledge  spurn, 

Let  Love  alone  thy  teacher  be. 

Love  is  my  master.    "When  it  breaks, 

The  morning  light,  with  rising  ray ; 
To  thee,  0  God !  my  spirit  wakes, 

And  Love  instructs  it  all  the  day. 

And  when  the  gleams  of  day  retire, 

And  midnight  spreads  its  dark  control, 
Love 's  secret  whispers  still  inspire 

Their  holy  lessons  in  the  soul. 


THOUGHTS    OF    GOD    IN    THE    NIGHT.* 

O  Night  !  propitious  to  my  views, 
Thy  sable  awning  wide  diffuse ! 
Conceal  alike  my  joy  and  pain, 
Nor  draw  thy  curtain  back  again, 
Though  morning,  by  the  tears  she  shows, 
Seems  to  participate  my  woes. 

*  Extracted  and  slightly  altered  from  a  longer  poem,  translated  by 
Cewper. 

VOL.  II.  17  * 


198  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Ye  stars !  whose  faint  and  feeble  fires 

Express  my  languishing  desires, 

Whose  slender  beams  pervade  the  skies 

As  silent  as  my  secret  sighs, 

Those  emanations  of  a  soul 

That  darts  her  fires  beyond  the  pole  ;  — 

Your  rays,  that  scarce  assist  the  sight, 
That  pierce,  but  not  displace  the  night, 
That  shine,  indeed,  but  nothing  show 
Of  all  those  various  scenes  below, 
Bring  no  disturbance,  rather  prove 
Incentives  to  a  sacred  love. 

Thou  moon !   whose  never-failing  course 

Bespeaks  a  providential  force, 

Go,  tell  the  tidings  of  my  flame 

To  Him  who  calls  the  stars  by  name  ; 

Whose  absence  kills,  whose  presence  cheers, 

Who  blots  or  brightens  all  my  years. 

While,  in  the  blue  abyss  of  space, 
Thine  orb  performs  its  rapid  race  ; 
Still  whisper  in  his  listening  ears 
The  language  of  my  sighs  and  tears ; 
Tell  him,  I  seek  him  far  below, 
Lost  in  a  wilderness  of  woe. 

Ye  thouglnVcomposing,  silent  hours, 
Diffusing  peace  o'er  all  my  powers ; 
Friends  of  the  pensive  !   who  conceal, 
In  darkest  shades,  the  flames  I  feel ; 
To  you  I  trust,  and  safely  may, 
The  love  that  wastes  my  strength  away. 

How  calm,  amid  the  night,  my  mind  ! 
How  perfect  is  the  peace  I  find ! 
Oh  !  hush,  be  still,  my  every  part, 
My  tongue,  my  pulse,  my  beating  heart ! 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  199 

That  love,  aspiring  to  its  cause, 
May  suffer  not  a  moment's  pause. 

Omniscient  God,  whose  notice  deigns 
To  try  the  heart  and  search  the  reins, 
Compassionate  the  numerous  woes 
I  dare  to  thee  alone  disclose ; 
Oh  !  save  me  from  the  cruel  hands 
Of  men  who  fear  not  thy  commands ! 

Love,  all  subduing  and  divine, 
Care  for  a  creature  truly  thine ; 
Reign  in  a  heart  disposed  to  own 
No  sovereign  but  thyself  alone ; 
Cherish  a  bride  who  cannot  rove, 
Nor  quit  thee  for  a  meaner  love. 

THE    ENTIRE    SURRENDER. 

Peace  has  unveil'd  her  smiling  face, 
And  woos  thy  soul  to  her  embrace  ;  — 
Enjoy'd  with  ease,  if  thou  refrain 
From  selfish  love,  else  sought  in  vain  ;  — 
She  dwells  with  all  who  truth  prefer, 
But  seeks  not  them  who  seek  not  her. 

Yield  to  the  Lord,  with  simple  heart, 
All  that  thou  hast,  and  all  thou  art ; 
Renounce  all  strength  but  strength  divine ; 
And  peace  shall  be  for  ever  thine ; 
Behold  the  path  which  I  have  trod, 
My  path,  till  I  go  home  to  God. 


GLORY   TO    GOD    ALONE. 

Oh  Loved  !  but  not  enough,  though  dearer  far 
Than  self  and  its  most  loved  enjoyments  are ; 
None  duly  loves  thee,  but  who,  nobly  free 
From  sensual  objects,  finds  his  all  in  thee. 


200  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Glory  of  God !   thou  stranger  here  below, 
Whom  man  nor  knows,  nor  feels  a  wish  to  know ; 
Our  faith  and  reason  are  both  shock'd  to  find 
Man  in  the  post  of  honor,  thee  behind. 

My  soul !  rest  happy  in  thy  low  estate, 
Nor  hope  nor  wish  to  be  esteem'd  or  great : 
To  take  the  impression  of  a  Will  Divine, 
Be  that  thy  glory,  and  those  riches  thine. 

Confess  him  righteous  in  his  just  decrees, 

Love  what  he  loves,  and  let  his  pleasures  please ; 

Die  daily  ;  from  the  touch  of  sin  recede ; 

Then  thou  hast  crown'd  him,  and  he  reigns  indeed. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1696.  Bossuet  commences  writing  on  the  subject  of  the  inward  life. 
Feelings  with  which  he  wrote.  His  book,  entitled,  Instructions  on 
Prayer,  approved  by  the  Bishop  of  Chartres  and  the  Archbishop 
of  Paris.  Fenelon  refuses  to  give  his  approbation  of  it.  Writes 
to  Madame  de  Maintenon,  giving  his  reasons  for  his  refusal. 
Origin  of  the  work,  entitled,  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints.  Some 
remarks  upon  it. 

During  a  considerable  part  of  the  year  1695,  the  mind 
of  Bossuet  seems  to  have  been  occupied,  in  various  ways, 
with  the  topics  which  were  thus  agitating  the  religious  por- 
tion of  the  French  community.  The  life  of  faith,  in  distinc- 
tion from  a  life  of  mere  works  ;  —  a  life,  deriving  its  inspira- 
tion and  its  power  from  God,  in  distinction  from  a  life  self- 
originated  and  self-sustained ;  —  a  life,  carried,  under  the 
operation  and  power  of  faith,  to  such  a  degree  of  distinctness 
and  vitality  as  to  dispossess  entirely  the  natural  life,  and 
leave  the  soul  in  the  divine  image ;  —  such  were  some  of  the 
important  problems  which  were  discussed  with  the  greatest 
animation. 

The  doctrines  of  holy  living,  in  the  form  in  which  they 
were  now  presented,  new  as  they  were  to  most  persons  in 
that  age,  were  nevertheless  not  new  in  the  history  and  expe- 
rience of  the  world.  Pious  men  of  other  ages  had  known 
them ;  felt  them ;  taught  them.  They  had  their  history, 
therefore,  as  well  as  their  exegetical  and  theological  rela- 


202  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

tions.  So  that  the  historical,  as  well  as  the  theological, 
development  of  them  became  important.  To  the  subject  in 
its  various  relations,  of  which  he  was  now  reminded  in  so 
many  ways,  Bossuet  had  decided  to  give  an  increased  and 
vigorous  attention.  Indeed  it  was  not  his  character,  as  if 
forgetful  or  neglectful  of  his  immense  resources,  to  enter 
upon  any  subject  indolently  and  carelessly.  He  read  much ; 
and  that,  too,  in  writers  who  had  hitherto  attracted  but  little 
of  his  notice.  He  thought  much,  and  conversed  and  ob- 
served much.  And  in  the  early  part  of  the  following  year, 
after  eight  months  of  assiduous  study,  he  was  enabled  to 
embody  the  result  of  his  reading  and  reflections  in  his  work, 
(one  of  the  ablest,  unquestionably,  in  the  long  catalogue  of 
his  remarkable  writings,)  entitled,  Instructions  on  the  States 
of  Prayer.* 

2.  When  Bossuet  thought  it  proper  to  write  at  all,  he 
expected  to  write  as  a  master.  Indeed,  the  public  expecta- 
tion, which  was  always  disappointed  when  he  failed  to  leave 
his  competitors  behind,  did  not  allow  him  to  do  otherwise. 
Writing  as  a  leader  and  master  of  his  art,  he  wrote  also  as 
a  master  of  the  public  mind.  His  decisions,  when  given  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  his  high  character,  so  influenced  the  public 
sentiment,  that  they  had  almost  the  effect  of  the  combined 
wisdom  and  piety  of  a  council.  If  he  met  with  opposition, 
he  expected  to  overcome  it ;  but,  generally  speaking,  he  had 
ceased  to  expect  it,  because  he  had  so  long  ceased  to  experi- 
ence it.  But,  whether  opposed  or  not,  he  knew  that  he  de- 
served to  be  listened  to  ;  and  he  did  not  expect  to  write  or 
to  speak  to  careless  and  indifferent  ears.  "  What  you  write," 
says  the  Abbe  de  Eance  in  one  of  his  letters,  u  is  decisive." 
And  such  was  the  general  feeling  in  France. 

He  took  the  precaution,  however,  at  this  time,  as  the  re- 

*  Instructions  sur  les  Etats  dOraison. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  203 

suit  seemed  to  be  more  doubtful  than  in  some  other  cases,  to 
sustain  himself  by  the  approval  of  distinguished  men.  Who 
knew  but  that  a  new  Protestantism,  arising  out  of  these  dis- 
cussions, would  spring  up  in  the  very  bosom  of  France  ? 
How  important  it  was,  then,  that  the  blow,  which  was  about 
to  be  given,  should  be  so  well  aimed,  and  inflicted  with  so 
much  power,  as  entirely  and  for  ever  to  prostrate  these 
movements  ?  If  he  had  but  little  to  fear  from  an  intellectual 
conflict  with  Madame  Guyon,  he  might  have  much  to  fear 
from  heads  and  hearts  too  pure  to  be  perverted  by  selfish 
considerations,  and  too  strong  to  be  trifled  with,  which  were 
under  her  remarkable  influence. 

3.  It  was  with  such  views  and  feelings,  that  he  wrote  the 
celebrated  treatise  to  which  we  have  alluded,  —  a  large 
work  in  ten  books.  Of  the  ability  of  the  work  no  one  can 
doubt.  It  is  profound  in  learning,  and  brilliant  with  elo- 
quence. But  he  was  offended  with  Madame  Guyon ;  he 
knew  that  the  king  was  offended  also ;  and  when  he  touched 
upon  her  character  and  writings,  he  was  more  critical  and 
denunciatory  than  just. 

His  work,  begun  in  1695,  was  completed  early  in  the 
year  1696;  but  was  not  published  till  the  following  year. 
It  was  not  his  intention  to  publish  it,  until  it  could  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  examination,  and  be  sustained  by  the  approba- 
tion, of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  France.  It 
was  accordingly  submitted,  at  an  early  period,  to  M.  Godet 
des  Marais,  bishop  of  Chartres,  and  to  M.  de  Noailles,  who 
had  been  appointed  on  the  death  of  M.  de  Harlai  in  the 
preceding  year,  Archbishop  of  Paris.  Both  were  able  men  ; 
and  both  readily  gave  their  testimonials  in  favor  of  the 
work. 

4.  To  these  important  testimonials  Bossuet  was  desirous 
of  adding  that  of  Fenelon,  who  had  recently  been  appointed 
Archbishop  of  Cambray.     The  high  character  of  Fenelon, 


201  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

added  to  the  influential  position  lie  now  held,  had  given  a 
currency  and  popularity  to  the  doctrines  of  Madame  Guyon. 
It  was  natural,  therefore,  for  Bossuet  to  consider  it  desirable 
to  diminish  his  influence  in  that  respect,  by  obtaining  his 
signature  to  a  work  which  condemned  those  doctrines. 

Fenelon  examined  the  manuscript  with  care ;  and  al- 
though he  was  impressed  with  the  ability  which  character- 
ized it,  as  he  could  not  fail  to  be,  he  refused  to  give  his 
approbation  to  it.  As  a  man  of  honor,  and  still  more  as  a 
man  of  true  Christian  piety,  he  could  not  well  do  it. 

5.  If  the  book  had  merely  condemned  doctrines,  without 
implicating  the  character  of  persons,  it  might  have  been 
otherwise.  His  objection  was  not  so  much  to  the  general 
doctrines  of  the  book,  although  he  might  not  have  been  alto- 
gether satisfied  in  that  respect,  as  it  was  in  relation  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  writer  spoke  of  the  opinions  and  char- 
acter of  Madame  Guyon. 

Others,  who  were  comparatively  ignorant  of  her  charac- 
ter, might  perhaps  conscientiously  condemn  her ;  but,  as  for 
himself,  he  felt  that  he  had  no  such  plea.  He  knew  her 
well ;  he  was  entirely  convinced  of  her  sincerity ;  he  had 
taken  pains  to  ascertain  her  meaning  in  passages  of  her 
writings  which  seemed  obscure  and  difficult.  But  this  was 
not  all.  He  remembered,  with  feelings  of  gratitude,  the 
deep  interest  she  had  taken  in  his  religious  welfare,  the 
prayers  she  had  offered,  the  conversations  she  had  held, 
the  letters  she  had  written,  and  the  blessing  which  had 
attended  these  various  efforts. 

Was  it  possible  for  him,  with  a  heart  humbled  and  sub- 
dued, with  a  will  which  corresponded  with  what  he  supposed 
to  be  right  and  with  the  right  only,  to  give  his  signature  and 
approbation  to  a  book  which  spoke  in  severely  disparaging 
terms  of  one  of  whom  he  entertained  the  most  favorable 
opinions,  and  to  whom  he  was  thus  indebted  ? 


OF   MADAME    GUTON.  205 

6.  He  knew  that  his  refusal  to  comply  with  the  wishes 
of  Bossuet  would  not  only  be  an  offence  to  Bossuet  himself, 
but  would  expose  him  also  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  king, 
and  would  be  likely  to  operate  in  such  a  manner  as  to  blast 
his  worldly  prospects.     But  he  did  not  hesitate. 

The  following  are  passages  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
Madame  de  Maintenon :  — 

"August  2d,  1696. 
"Madame, 

"  When  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  proposed  to  me  to  ap- 
prove of  his  book,  I  expressed  to  him,  with  tenderness,  that 
I  should  be  delighted  to  give  such  a  public  testimony  of  the 
conformity  of  my  sentiments  with  those  of  a  prelate  whom  I 
had  ever  regarded,  from  my  youth,  as  my  master  in  the 
science  of  religion.  I  even  offered  to  go  to  Germigny  to 
compose,  in  conjunction  with  him,  my  approbation.  I  said, 
at  the  same  time,  to  the  archbishop  of  Paris,  to  the  bishop 
of  Chartres,  and  to  Monsieur  Tronson,  that  I  did  not,  in  fact, 
see  any  shadow  of  difficulty  between  me  and  the  bishop  of 
Meaux,  on  the  fundamental  questions  of  doctrine  ;  but  that, 
if  he  personally  attacked  Madame  Guyon  in  his  book,  I  could 
not  approve  of  it.  This  is  what  I  declared  six  months  ago. 
The  bishop  of  Meaux  gave  me  his  book  to  examine.  At 
the  first  opening  of  the  leaves,  I  saw  that  it  was  full  of  per- 
sonal refutation.  I  immediately  informed  the  archbishop  of 
Paris,  the  bishop  of  Chartres,  and  Monsieur  Tronson,  of  the 
perplexing  situation  in  which  the  bishop  of  Meaux  had 
placed  me." 

After  adding  that  he  could  not  approve  of  a  book  in  which 
many  unfavorable  things  are  said  of  Madame  Guyon,  with- 
out doing  an  injury  to  himself  as  well  as  injustice  to  her,  he 
proceeds  in  the  same  letter  to  give  his  reasons. 

"  I  have  often  seen  her.     Every  one  knows  that  I  have 

VOL.  II.  18 


206  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

been  intimately  acquainted  with  her.  I  may  say  farther, 
that  I  have  esteemed  her,  and  that  I  have  suffered  her  also 
to  be  esteemed  by  illustrious  persons,  whose  reputation  is 
dear  to  the  church,  and  who  had  confidence  in  me.  I  neither 
was  nor  could  be  ignorant  of  her  writings,  although  I  did 
not  examine  them  all  accurately  at  an  early  period.  I 
knew  enough  of  them,  however,  to  perceive  that  they  were 
liable  to  be  misunderstood  ;  and  must  confess  that  I  was  in- 
duced by  some  feelings  of  early  distrust  to  examine  her 
with  the  greatest  rigor.  I  think  I  can  say  I  have  conducted 
this  examination  with  greater  accuracy  than  her  enemies,  or 
even  her  authorized  examiners,  can  have  done  it.  And  the 
reason  of  my  saying  this  is,  that  she  was  much  more  candid, 
much  more  unconstrained,  much  more  ingenuous  towards 
me,  at  a  time  when  she  had  nothing  to  fear. 

"  I  have  often  made  her  explain  what  she  thought  respect- 
ing the  controverted  points.  I  have  required  her,  in  fre- 
quent instances,  to  explain  to  me  the  meaning  of  particular 
terms  in  her  writings,  having  relation  to  the  subject  of 
inward  experience,  which  seemed  to  be  mystical  and  uncer- 
tain. I  clearly  perceived,  in  every  instance,  that  she  un- 
derstood them  in  a  perfectly  innocent  and  catholic  sense.  I 
followed  her  even  through  all  the  details  of  her  practice, 
and  of  the  counsels  which  she  gave  to  the  most  ignorant  and 
least  cautious  persons ;  but  I  could  never  discover  the  least 
trace  of  those  wrong  and  injurious  maxims  which  are  attrib- 
uted to  her.  Could  I  then,  conscientiously,  impute  them  to 
her  by  my  approbation  of  the  work  of  the  bishop  of  Meaux, 
and  thus  strike  the  final  blow  at  her  reputation,  after  having 
so  clearly  and  so  accurately  ascertained  her  innocence  ? 

"  Let  others,  who  are  acquainted  with  her  writings  only, 
explain  the  meaning  of  those  writings  with  rigor,  and  cen- 
sure them.  I  leave  them  to  do  it  if  they  please.  But,  as 
for  myeslf,  I  think  I  am  bound  in  justice  to  judge  of  the 


OF    MADAME   GUYON.  207 

meaning  of  her  icritings  from  her  real  opinions,  with  which 
I  am  thoroughly  acquainted  ;  and  not  of  her  opinions  by  the 
harsh  interpretations  which  are  given  to  her  expressions, 
and  which  she  never  intended." 

Such  are  some  of  the  terms  which  are  found  in  this  letter. 
They  are  sufficiently  explicit.  They  indicate  the  course 
which  Fenelon  thought  it  necessary  to  pursue ;  a  course 
which  was  not  likely  to  be  changed,  after  it  had  been  once 
adopted  on  full  examination.  He  knew  well  that  the  letter 
would  be  laid  before  the  king,  and  that  it  would  be  likely  to 
offend  him.  But  it  was  impossible  for  him,  with  those  high 
natural  and  moral  traits  he  possessed,  to  do  otherwise  than 
he  did. 

7.  The  work  of  Bossuet,  although  it  was  not  yet  pub- 
lished, was  everywhere  spoken  of.  It  was  generally  under- 
stood also,  that  it  did  not  meet  with  the  approbation  of  Fene- 
lon. Bossuet  and  Fenelon  were,  therefore,  at  variance; 
two  men  who  embodied  more  of  public  thought  and  of  public 
attachment  than  any  other  two  men  in  France.  And,  singu- 
lar as  it  may  seem,  the  object  of  controversy  between  them 
was  a  poor  captive  woman,  who  was  at  this  very  time  shut 
up  in  the  fortress  of  Vincennes,  and  who  was  employed  in 
making  religious  songs,  which  she  sung  in  concert  with  her 
pious  maid-servant.  Bossuet  looked  upon  her  as  a  heretic. 
Fenelon  was  regarded,  not  without  some  reason,  as  her 
avowed  defender. 

8.  It  was  not  possible  for  a  man  of  Fenelon's  reputation 
and  standing,  towards  whom  so  many  eyes  were  now  turned, 
to  remain  silent.  The  marked  circumstances  of  the  times, 
and  of  his  own  peculiar  position,  rendered  it  necessary  for 
him  to  speak.  It  was  under  these  circumstances,  enlight- 
ened by  his  own  experience  as  well  as  by  history,  that  he 
gave  to  the  world  his  work,  entitled,  The  Maxims  of  the 
Saints.     It  was  first  published  in  January,  1697. 


208  LIFE,  ETC. 

In  this  celebrated  work,  it  was  his  object  to  state  some  of 
the  leading  principles  or  maxims,  such  as  are  found  in  the 
most  devout  writers,  on  the  subject  of  the  higher  inward 
experience  and  of  holy  living.  It  is  not  an  entire  theory  or 
system  of  the  inward  life ;  but  a  statement  of  some  of  the  lead- 
ing principles,  especially  such  as  had  been  most  controverted. 
The  work  of  Bossuet,  although  it  embraced  a  multitude  of 
topics,  might  be  justly  described  as  an  attack  upon  Madame 
Guyon.  The  work  of  Fenelon,  without  naming  her,  was 
designed  to  be,  and  was  in  fact,  her  defence.  It  was  an  ex- 
position of  her  views  as  Fenelon  understood  them,  and  as 
she  had  explained  them  to  him  in  private. 

9.  In  what  follows,  I  propose  to  give  the  substance  of 
these  maxims.  As  they  are  drawn  in  part  from  the  mystic 
writers,  we  meet  frequently  with  expressions  which  are 
peculiar  to  those  writers.  A  literal  translation,  therefore, 
would  fail  to  convey  the  precise  idea  to  the  Protestant  mind, 
which  is  trained  to  somewhat  different  modes  of  thought 
and  forms  of  expression.  What  we  propose,  therefore,  is 
to  give  the  substance  of  them ;  that  is  to  say,  the  true  mean- 
ing, as  it  would  be  likely  to  be  understood  by  religious 
Protestants,  and  in  as  few  words  as  possible. 


MAXIMS  OF  THE   SAINTS. 

[The  Maxims  of  the  Saints  ;  —  or  Maxims  having  relation  to  the 
experiences  of  the  Inward  Life  and  the  doctrines  of  Pure  Love, 
by  Fenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray  ;  —  the  sentiment,  or  sub- 
stance of  them,  herein  being  given.] 

ARTICLE    FIRST. 

Of  the  love  of  God,  there  are  various  kinds.  At  least, 
there  are  various  feelings  which  go  under  that  name. 

First,  There  is  what  may  be  called  mercenary  or  selfish 
love ;  that  is  to  say,  that  love  of  God  which  originates  in 
an  exclusive  and  sole  regard  to  our  own  happiness.  Those, 
who  love  God  with  no  other  love  than  this,  love  him  just  as  the 
miser  loves  his  money,  and  just  as  the  voluptuous  man  loves 
his  pleasures  ;  attaching  no  value  to  God,  except  as  a  means 
to  an  end ;  and  that  end  is  the  gratification  of  themselves. 
Such  love,  if  it  can  be  called  by  that  name,  is  unworthy  of 
God.  He  does  not  ask  it ;  he  will  not  receive  it.  It  is  a 
love  of  one's  self  rather  than  of  God.  In  the  language  of 
St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "  it  is  sacrilegious  and  impious." 

Second,  There  is  another  kind  of  love,  which  does  not 
exclude  a  regard  to  our  own  happiness  as  a  motive  of  love, 
but  which  at  the  same  time  requires  this  motive  to  be  subor- 
dinate to  a  much  higher  one,  namely,  that  of  a  regard  to 
God's  glory.  It  is  a  species  of  mixed  state,  in  which  we 
regard  ourselves  and  regard  God  at  the  same  time.  This 
love  is  not  necessarily  selfish  and  wrong.  On  the  contrary, 
when  the  two  objects  of  it,  God  and  ourselves,  are  relatively 

vol.  it.  18  * 


210  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

in  the  right  position,  that  is  to  say,  when  we  love  God  as  he 
ought  to  be  loved,  and  love  ourselves  no  more  than  we  ought 
to  be  loved,  it  is  a  love  which,  in  being  properly  subordinated, 
is  unselfish  and  is  right. 

Such  love  is  approved  by  the  Council  of  Trent;  which 
declares  that  mixed  love,  involving  on  the  one  hand  a  regard 
for  our  own  happiness,  and  on  the  other  a  regard  for  God's 
glory,  as  the  leading  and  principal  element,  is  not  a  sin,  but 
on  the  contrary  is  right  and  desirable. 

article  Second. 

Of  those  persons  who  are  subjects  of  the  mixed  love 
described  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  article,  all  are  not 
equally  advanced.  There  are  some  whose  desire  or  love 
for  their  own  happiness  is  out  of  proportion  to  what  is  or 
should  be  their  love  to  God.  They  love  themselves ;  that 
is  to  say,  they  seek  their  own  happiness,  which  is  right ;  but 
the  love  of  themselves  is  not  kept  in  proper  subordination  to 
the  love  of  God.  And  this  want  of  subordination  varies, 
being  in  some  persons  greater  and  in  others  less.  So  that 
there  are  different  degrees  of  advancement. 

II.  Mixed  love,  which  includes  as  the  objects  of  our 
regard  both  God  and  ourselves,  becomes  pure  love,  when 
the  love  of  self  is  relatively,  though  not  absolutely,  lost  in  a 
regard  to  the  will  of  God.  This  is  always  the  case,  when 
the  two  objects  are  loved  in  their  due  proportion.  So  that 
pure  love  is  mixed  love  when  it  is  combined  rightly. 

III.  Pure  love  is  not  inconsistent  with  mixed  love,  but 
is  mixed  love  carried  to  its  true  result.  When  this  result  is 
attained,  the  motive  of  God's  glory  so  expands  itself,  and  so 
fills  the  mind,  that  the  other  motive,  that  of  our  own  hap- 
piness, becomes  so  small,  and  so  recedes  from  our  inward 
notice,  as  to  be  practically  annihilated.  It  is  then  that  God 
becomes  what  he  ever  ought  to  be, — the  centre  of  the  soul,  to 


OP   MADAME    GUTON.  211 

which  all  its  affections  tend ;  the  great  moral  sun  of  the  soul, 
from  which  all  its  light  and  all  its  warmth  proceed.  It  is 
then  that  a  man  thinks  no  more  of  himself.  He  has  become 
the  man  of  a  "  single  eye."  His  own  happiness,  and  all  that 
regards  himself,  is  entirely  lost  sight  of,  in  his  simple  and 
fixed  look  to  God's  will  and  God's  glory. 

IV.  So  that  we  may  make  three  distinctions  or  degrees 
of  love.  The  first  is  mercenary  love,  in  which  we  propose 
to  love  God  simply  and  exclusively  as  a  means  or  instru- 
ment to  our  own  happiness.  Such  love,  considered  in  a 
religious  respect,  has  no  value.  It  is  illusive,  injurious,  and 
destructive. 

The  second  is  mixed  love,  in  which  we  love  God  without 
ceasing  to  have  a  regard  to  ourselves.  Our  motives  of  action 
have  not  reached  the  true  "  simplicity,"  —  have  not  become 
one.  "When  we  would  do  good,  "  evil  is  present  with  us." 
Holy  and  selfish  motives  are  mingled  together  in  various 
degrees. 

The  third  is  pure  love,  in  which  the  motive  of  our  own 
happiness,  without  being  absolutely  lost,  is  merged  in  that 
of  love  to  God.  We  lay  ourselves  at  his  feet.  Self  is  known 
no  more  ;  not  because  it  is  wrong  to  regard  and  to  desire 
our  own  good,  but  because  the  object  of  desire  is  withdrawn 
from  our  notice.  When  the  sun  shines,  the  stars  disappear. 
When  God  is  in  the  soul,  who  can  think  of  himself?  So 
that  we  love  God,  and  God  alone  ;  and  all  other  things  in 
and  for  God. 

ARTICLE    THIRD. 

In  the  early  periods  of  religious  experience,  motives, 
which  have  a  regard  to  our  personal  happiness,  are  more 
prominent  and  effective  than  at  later  periods ;  nor  are  they 
to  be  condemned.  It  is  proper,  in  addressing  even  religious 
men,  to  appeal  to  the  fear  of  death,  to  the  impending  judg- 
ments of  God,  to  the  terrors  of  hell  and  the  joys  of  heaven. 


212  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Such  appeals  are  recognized  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  are 
in  accordance  with  the  views  and  feelings  of  good  men  in  all 
ages  of  the  world.  The  motives  involved  in  them  are 
powerful  aids  to  beginners  in  religion ;  assisting,  as  they  do, 
very  much  in  repressing  the  passions,  and  in  strengthening 
the  practical  virtues. 

We  should  not  think  lightly,  therefore,  of  the  grace  of 
God,  as  manifested  in  that  inferior  form  of  religion  which  stops 
short  of  the  more  glorious  and  perfected  form  of  pure  love. 
We  are  to  follow  God's  grace,  and  not  to  go  before  it.  To 
the  higher  state  of  pure  love  we  are  to  advance,  step  by 
step ;  watching  carefully  God's  inward  and  outward  provi- 
dence ;  and  receiving  increased  grace  by  improving  the 
grace  we  have,  till  the  dawning  light  becomes  the  perfect 
day. 

ARTICLE   FOURTH. 

He,  who  is  in  the  state  of  pure  or  perfect  love,  has  all 
the  moral  and  Christian  virtues  in  himself.  Such  love 
necessarily  includes  the  whole.  If  temperance,  forbearance, 
chastity,  truth,  kindness,  forgiveness,  justice,  may  be  re- 
garded as  virtues,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  they  are  all 
included  in  holy  love.  That  is  to  say,  the  principle  of  love 
will  not  fail  to  develope  itself,  on  the  appropriate  occasions, 
in  each  of  these  forms.  Such  is  obviously  the  doctrine  of 
St.  Augustine,  who  remarks,  that  love  is  the  foundation, 
source,  or  principle  of  all  the  virtues ;  and  that  different 
names  are  frequently  given  to  it,  in  connection  with  the 
different  occasions  which  call  it  forth.  This  view  is  sus- 
tained also  by  St.  Francis  de  Sales  and  by  Thomas  Aquinas. 

The  state  of  pure  love  does  not  exclude  the  mental  state, 
which  is  called  Christian  hope.  Hope  in  the  Christian,  when 
we  analyze  it  into  its  elements,  may  be  described  as  the  de- 
sire of  being  united  with  God  in  heaven,  accompanied  with 
the  expectation  or  belief  of  being  so.     It  is  true  this  belief 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  213 

is  so  strong,  that  this  state  of  mind,  being  free  from  anxiety, 
does  not  arrest  so  much  of  our  notice,  and  occupy  so  much 
of  our  attention,  as  it  otherwise  would.     But  still  it  exists. 

ARTICLE  FIFTH. 

Souls  that,  by  being  perfected  in  love,  are  truly  the  sub- 
jects of  the  grace  of  sanctification,  do  not  cease,  neverthe- 
less, to  grow  in  grace.  It  may  not  be  easy  to  specify  and 
describe  the  degrees  of  sanctification  to  any  great  extent ; 
but  there  seem  to  be  at  least  two  modifications  of  experi- 
ence, after  persons  have  reached  this  state. 

(1.)  The  first  may  be  described  as  the  state  of  holy  resig- 
nation. Such  a  soul  thinks  more  frequently  than  it  will,  at 
a  subsequent  period,  of  its  own  happiness.  Desires,  not 
selfish,  but  still  having  relation  to  its  own  good,  from  time  to 
time  arise.  They  are  not  unholy  desires,  because  they  are 
entirely  submitted  to  God,  and  do  not  exist  at  variance  with 
his  will. 

(2.)  The  second  state,  which  is  experienced  after  the 
soul  hath  made  further  progress,  is  that  of  holy  indifference. 
Such  a  soul  not  only  desires  and  wills  in  submission,  but 
absolutely  ceases  either  to  desire  or  to  will,  except  in  cooper- 
ation with  the  divine  leading.  Its  desires  for  itself,  as  it  has 
greater  light,  are  more  completely  and  permanently  merged 
in  the  one  higher  and  more  absorbing  desire  of  God's  glory, 
and  the  fulfilment  of  his  will.  It  desires  and  wills,  therefore, 
only  what  God  desires  and  wills.  In  this  state  of  experi- 
ence, ceasing  to  do  what  we  shall  be  likely  to  do,  and  what 
we  may  very  properly  do  in  a  lower  state,  we  no  longer  de- 
sire our  own  salvation  merely  as  an  eternal  deliverance,  or 
merely  as  involving  the  greatest  amount  of  personal  happi- 
ness ;  but  we  desire  it  chiefly  as  the  fulfilment  of  God's 
pleasure,  and  as  resulting  in  his  glory,  and  because  he  him- 
self desires  and  wills  that  we  should  thus  desire  and  will. 


214  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

(3.)  Holy  indifference  is  not  inactivity.  It  is  the  furthest 
possible  from  it.  It  is  indifference  to  any  thing  and  every 
thing  out  of  God's  will ;  but  it  is  the  highest  life  and  activity 
to  any  thing  and  every  thing  in  that  will. 

ARTICLE    SIXTH. 

One  of  the  clearest  and  best  established  maxims  or  prin- 
ciples of  holiness  is,  that  the  holy  soul,  when  arrived  at  the 
second  state  mentioned  in  the  last  article,  ceases  to  have 
desires  for  any  thing  out  of  the  will  of  God.  Its  desires  are 
not  only  submissive  to  the  divine  desires  and  purposes,  but, 
what  is  evidence  of  a  still  higher  state  of  grace,  are  identical 
with  them.  This  state  is  sometimes  described,  conveniently 
perhaps,  but  not  very  correctly,  as  a  state  of  non-desire. 
And  it  even  seems  to  be  an  opinion  with  some  persons,  that 
the  state  of  mind  under  consideration  absolutely  excludes  all 
desire  whatever ;  so  much  so,  that  one  who  is  the  subject  of 
it  cannot  make  any  specific  request  whatever,  for  any  good 
either  spiritual  or  temporal,  either  for  himself  or  others. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  this  is  a  perversion,  and 
a  very  great  perversion,  of  what  is  really  and  truly  meant. 
What  is  meant,  when  spiritual  writers  speak  of  the  state  of 
non-desire,  is,  that  the  holy  soul  is  indifferent  to,  and  does 
not  desire,  any  thing  which  God  does  not  desire.  But  within 
that  limit  it  may  and  does  desire  every  thing  which  God  in 
his  providence  brings  before  it.  Thus  the  Psalmist  says, 
"  All  my  desires  are  set  before  thine  eyes." 

The  holy  soul,  when  it  is  really  in  that  state  which  is 
called  in  some  writers  the  state  of  non-desire,  may,  never- 
theless, desire  every  thing  in  relation  to  the  correction  of  its 
imperfections  and  weaknesses,  its  perseverance  in  its  reli- 
gious state,  and  its  ultimate  salvation,  which  it  has  reason  to 
know  from  the  Scriptures,  or  in  any  other  way  that  God 
desires.     It  may  also  desire  all  temporal  good,  houses  and 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  215 

lands,  food  and  clothing,  friends  and  books,  and  exemp- 
tion from  physical  suffering,  and  any  thing  else,  so  far  and 
only  so  far,  as  it  has  reason  to  think  that  such  desire  is 
coincident  with  the  divine  desire.  The  holy  soul  not  only 
desires  particular  things,  which  are  sanctioned  by  the  known 
will  of  God ;  but  also  desires  the  fulfilment  of  his  will  in  all 
respects,  unknown  as  well  as  known.  Being  in  faith,  it 
commits  itself  to  God  in  darkness  as  well  as  in  light.  Its 
non-desire  is  simply  its  not  desiring  any  thing  out  of  God. 

ARTICLE    SEVENTH. 

In  that  portion  of  the  history  of  the  church  which  relates 
to  inward  experience,  we  not  unfrequently  find  accounts  of 
individuals  whose  inward  life  may  properly  be  characterized 
as  extraordinary.  They  represent  themselves  as  having  ex- 
traordinary communications  ;  —  dreams,  visions,  revelations. 
Without  stopping  to  inquire,  whether  these  inward  results 
arise  from  an  excited  and  disordered  state  of  the  physical 
system  or  from  God,  the  important  remark  to  be  made  here 
is,  that  these  things,  to  whatever  extent  they  may  exist,  do 
not  constitute  holiness. 

The  principle,  which  is  the  life  of  common  Christians  in 
their  common  mixed  state,  is  the  principle  which  originates 
and  sustains  the  life  of  those  who  are  truly  "  the  pure  in 
heart"  namely,  the  principle  of  faith  working  by  love,  — 
existing,  however,  in  the  case  of  those  last  mentioned,  in  a 
greatly  increased  degree.  This  is  obviously  the  doctrine  of 
John  of  the  Cross,  who  teaches  us,  that  we  must  walk  in  the 
night  of  faith  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  night  around  us,  which 
exists  in  consequence  of  our  entire  ignorance  of  what  is 
before  us,  and  with  faith  alone,  faith  in  God,  in  his  Word, 
and  in  his  Providences,  for  the  soul's  guide. 

Again,  the  persons  who  have,  or  are  supposed  to  have,  the 
visions  and  other  remarkable  states  to  which  we  have  re- 


216  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ferred,  and  which  are  never  to  be  confounded  with  the  state 
of  holy  love,  are  sometimes  disposed  to  make  their  own  ex- 
perience, imperfect  as  it  obviously  is,  the  guide  of  their  life, 
considered  as  separate  from  and  as  above  the  written  law. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  against  such  an  error  as  this. 
God's  Word  is  our  true  rule. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  an  important  principle  in  the  doctrines 
of  holiness,  that  there  is  no  interpreter  of  the  Divine  Word 
like  that  of  a  holy  heart ;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  dwelling  in  the  heart.  If  we  give  ourselves 
wholly  to  God,  the  Comforter  will  certainly  come,  and  take 
up  his  abode  with  us,  and  will  guide  us  into  all  that  truth 
which  will  be  necessary  for  us.  Truly  holy  souls,  therefore, 
continually  looking  to  God  for  a  proper  understanding  of  his 
Word,  may  confidently  trust,  that  he  will  guide  them  aright. 
A  holy  soul,  in  the  exercise  of  its  legitimate  powers  of  inter- 
pretation, may  deduce  important  views  from  the  Word  of 
God,  which  would  not  otherwise  be  known ;  but  it  cannot 
add  any  thing  to  it.  When  the  truth  is  thus  made  known,  it 
is  the  business  of  the  soul  to  cooperate  with  God  with  all  its 
affections  and  all  its  strength  of  will,  in  the  fulfilment  of 
whatever  he  requires. 

Again,  God  is  the  regulator  of  the  affections,  as  well  as 
of  the  outward  actions.  Sometimes  the  state  which  he  in- 
spires within  us  is  that  of  holy  love ;  —  sometimes,  acting 
in  accordance  with  the  appropriate  circumstances,  he  in- 
spires affections  which  have  love  and  faith  for  their  basis, 
but  which  have  a  specific  character,  and  which  then  appear 
under  other  names  or  denominations,  such  as  humility,  for- 
giveness, gratitude-  But  in  all  cases,  both  of  outward  acts 
and  of  inward  affections,  and  in  whatever  form  those  affec- 
tions appear,  whether  general  or  specific,  there  is  nothing 
holy,  except  what  is  based  upon  the  antecedent  or  "prc- 
venient "   grace  of  God.     In  all  the  universe,  there  is  but 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  217 

one  legitimate  Originator.  Man's  business  is  that  of  concur- 
re?ice.  And  this  view  is  applicable  to  all  the  stages  of  Chris- 
tian experience,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 

To  speak  thus  is  to  speak  in  accordance  with  the  views 
of  eminent  and  recognized  writers  on  inward  experience. 

ARTICLE   EIGHTH. 

Writers  on  the  higher  forms  of  inward  experience  often 
speak  of  abandonment.  The  term  has  a  meaning  which  is 
somewhat  specific.  The  soul  in  this  state  does  not  renounce 
every  thing,  and  thus  become  brutish  in  its  indifference ;  ttut 
renounces  every  thing,  except  God's  will. 

Souls  who  are  in  the  state  of  abandonment  [a  state 
which  is  essentially  the  same  with  that  which  Protestant 
writers  variously  express  by  the  terms  self-renunciation  and 
inward  crucifixion']  not  only  forsake  outward  things,  but, 
what  is  still  more  important,  forsake  themselves. 

Abandonment  or  self-renunciation  is  not  the  renunciation 
of  faith  or  of  love  or  of  any  thing  else,  except  selfishness. 
He  who  abandons  himself,  by  abandoning  that  in  himself 
which  ought  not  to  be  in  himself,  exists  in  God.  He  has 
gone  through  that  trying  and  often  terrible  process,  which 
smites  and  destroys  the  life  of  nature,  and  which  is  necessa- 
rily followed  by  a  better,  purer,  and  higher  life. 

The  state  of  abandonment,  or  entire  self-renunciation,  is 
generally  attended,  and  perhaps  we  may  say,  is  generally 
carried  out  and  perfected,  by  temptations  more  or  less 
severe.  We  cannot  well  know,  whether  we  have  renounced 
ourselves,  except  by  being  tried  on  those  very  points  to 
which  our  self-renunciation,  either  real  or  supposed,  relates. 
One  of  the  severest  inward  trials  which  we  are  called  to 
experience  is  that  by  which  we  are  taken  off  from  all  in- 
ward sensible  supports,  and  are  made  to  live  and  walk  by 
faith  alone.     Pious  and  holy  men  who  have  been  the  sub- 

vol.  it.  10 


218  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

jects  of  inward  crucifixion,  often  refer  to  the  trials  which 
have  been  experienced  by  them.  They  sometimes  speak  of 
them  as  a  sort  of  inward  and  terrible  purgatory.  "  Only 
mad  and  wicked  men,"  says  Cardinal  Bona,  "  will  deny  the 
existence  of  these  remarkable  experiences,  attested  as  the} 
are  by  men  of  the  most  venerable  virtue,  who  speak  only  of 
what  they  have  known  in  themselves." 

The  trials,  which  complete  and  which  attest  our  abandon- 
ment to  God,  are  not  always  of  the  same  duration.  The 
more  cheerfully  and  faithfully  we  give  ourselves  to  God,  to 
be  smitten  in  any  and  all  of  our  idols,  whenever  and  wherever 
he  chooses,  the  shorter  will  be  the  work.  God  makes  us  to 
suffer  no  longer  than  he  sees  to  be  necessary  for  us. 

The  trials  which  purify  the  soul  in  the  higher  stages  of 
its  progress  are  different  in  some  degree,  as  would  naturally 
be  expected,  from  those  which  are  incident  to  the  life  of 
beginners.  They  are  more  inward :  they  relate  to  things, 
which,  in  our  earlier  experience,  would  hardly  have  attracted 
notice.  They  subject  even  our  virtues  to  the  test,  and  place 
our  purity  itself  in  the  crucible. 

One  of  the  principles  in  the  doctrines  of  holy  living  is, 
that  we  should  not  be  premature  in  drawing  the  conclusion, 
that  the  process  of  inward  crucifixion  is  complete,  and  that 
our  abandonment  to  God  is  without  any  reservation  what- 
ever. The  act  of  consecration,  which  is  a  sort  of  incipient 
step,  may  be  sincere  ;  but  the  reality  of  the  consecration  in 
the  full  extent  to  which  we  suppose  it  to  exist,  and  which 
may  properly  be  described  as  abandonment  or  entire  self- 
renunciation,  can  be  known  only  when  God  has  applied  the 
appropriate  tests.  The  trial  will  show  whether  we  are 
wholly  the  Lord's.  Those  who  prematurely  draw  the  con- 
clusion, that  they  are  so,  expose  themselves  to  great  illusion 
and  injury. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  219 

.   ARTICLE    NINTH. 

What  does  the  state  of  abandonment  or  of  entire  self- 
renunciation  take  away  from  us,  and  what  does  it  leave  ? 

It  does  not  take  from  the  soul  that  moral  power  which  is 
essential  to  its  moral  agency ;  —  a  power  without  which  the 
soul  could  not  fulfil  that  divine  will  to  which  it  has  given 
itself.  It  does  not  take  away  that  antecedent  or  prevenient 
grace,  without  which  even  abandonment  itself  would  be  a 
state  of  moral  death.  It  does  not  take  away  the  principle  of 
faith,  which  prevenient  grace  originated,  and  through  which 
it  now  operates.  It  does  not  take  away  the  desire  and  hope 
of  final  salvation,  although  it  takes  away  all  uneasiness  and 
unbelief  connected  with  such  a  desire.  It  does  not  take 
away  the  fountains  of  love  which  spring  up  deeply  and 
freshly  within  it.  It  does  not  take  away  the  hatred  of  sin. 
It  does  not  take  away  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience. 

But  there  are  some  things  which  the  state  of  self-renun- 
ciation does  take  away.  It  takes  away  that  uneasy  han- 
kering of  the  soul,  which  characterized  its  previous  state, 
after  pleasure  either  inward  or  outward.  It  takes  away  the 
selfish  vivacity  and  eagerness  of  nature,  which  is  too  impa- 
tient to  wait  calmly  and  submissively  for  God's  time  of  action. 
By  fixing  the  mind  wholly  upon  God,  it  takes  away  the  dis- 
position, and  to  some  extent  the  ability,  of  the  soul  to  occupy 
itself  with  reflect  acts  ;  that  is  to  say,  acts  that  are  employed 
with  the  undue  examination  and  analysis  of  its  own  feelings. 
In  other  words,  the  soul,  in  the  possession  of  God  as  the 
object  of  its  thoughts,  loses  the  thought  of  itself.  It  does 
not  take  away  the  pain  and  sorrow  which  are  naturally  inci- 
dent to  our  physical  state,  and  to  our  natural  sensibilities ; 
but  it  takes  away  all  uneasiness,  all  murmuring ;  —  leaving 
soul  in  its  inner  nature,  and  in  every  part  of  its  nature 
where  the  power  of  faith  reaches,  calm  and  peaceable  as  the 
God  that  dwells  there. 


220  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ARTICLE   TENTH. 

God  has  promised  life  and  happiness  to  his  people.  What 
he  has  promised  can  never  fail  to  take  place.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  the  disposition  of  those  who  love  God  with  a  perfect 
heart,  to  leave  themselves  entirely  in  his  hands,  irrespective, 
in  some  degree,  of  the  promise.  By  the  aid  of  the  promise, 
without  which  they  must  have  remained  in  their  original 
weakness,  they  rise,  as  it  were,  above  the  promise;  and 
rest  in  that  essential  and  eternal  will,  in  which  the  promise 
originated. 

So  much  is  this  the  case,  that  some  individuals,  across 
whose  path  God  had  spread  the  darkness  of  his  providences, 
and  who  seemed  to  themselves  for  a  time  to  be  thrown  out 
of  his  favor  and  to  be  hopelessly  lost,  have  acquiesced  with 
submission  in  the  terrible  destiny  which  was  thus  presented 
before  them.  Such  was  the  state  of  mind  of  Francis  de 
Sales,  as  he  prostrated  himself  in  the  church  of  St.  Stephen 
des  Grez.  The  language  of  such  persons,  uttered  without 
complaint,  is,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me  ?  "  They  claim  God  as  their  God,  and  will  not  abandon 
their  love  to  him,  although  they  believe,  at  the  time,  that 
they  are  forsaken  of  him.  They  choose  to  leave  themselves, 
under  all  possible  circumstances,  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
God :  their  language  is,  even  if  it  should  be  his  pleasure  to 
separate  them  for  ever  from  the  enjoyments  of  his  presence, 
" Not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done" 

It  is  perhaps  difficult  to  perceive,  how  minds  whose  life, 
as  it  were,  is  the  principle  of  faith,  can  be  in  this  situation. 
Take  the  case  of  the  Saviour.  It  is  certainly  difficult  to 
conceive  how  the  Saviour,  whose  faith  never  failed,  could 
yet  believe  himself  forsaken ;  and  yet  it  was  so. 

We  know  that  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  forsake  those 
who  put  their  trust  in  him.  He  can  just  as  soon  forsake  his 
own  word ;  and,  what  is  more,  he  can  just  as  soon  forsake 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  221 

his  own  nature.  Holy  souls,  nevertheless,  may  sometimes, 
in  a  way  and  under  circumstances  which  we  may  not  fully 
understand,  believe  themselves  to  be  forsaken,  and  that  too 
beyond  all  possibility  of  hope ;  and  yet  such  is  their  faith  in 
God  and  their  love  to  him,  that  the  will  of  God,  even  under 
such  circumstances,  is  dearer  to  them  than  any  thing  and 
every  thing  else. 

ARTICLE   ELEVENTH. 

One  great  point  of  difference  between  the  First  Covenant, 
or  the  covenant  of  works,  which  said  to  men,  "  Do  this  and 
live,"  and  the  Second  Covenant,  or  the  covenant  of  grace,  which 
says,  "Believe  and  live"  is  this :  — The  first  covenant  did  not 
lead  men  to  any  thing  that  was  perfect.  It  is  true,  that  it 
showed  men  what  was  right  and  good ;  but,  in  its  application 
to  them  in  their  fallen  state,  it  failed  in  giving  them  the 
power  to  fulfil  what  the  covenant  required.  Men,  under  the 
first  covenant,  not  only  understood  what  was  right  and  good, 
but  they  had  a  clear  perception  of  the  opposite  of  the  right, 
and  knew  what  was  evil ;  but,  in  their  love  and  practice  of 
depravity,  they  had  sunk  so  low  that  they  no  longer  had 
power  of  themselves  to  flee  from  it. 

The  new  or  Christian  covenant  is  the  law  of  grace  ;  which 
not  only  coincides  with  the  old  covenant  in  prescribing  and 
commanding,  but  gives  also  the  'power  to  fulfil.  To  every 
one  under  the  new  dispensation,  the  covenant  founded  in 
the  blood  of  the  cross,  God  gives  grace  ;  that  is  to  say,  he 
acts  graciously  or  mercifully  in  giving  them,  darkened  and 
depraved  as  they  are,  that  knowledge  and  strength  which 
are  requisite  in  doing  his  will. 

In  the  practical  dispensations  of  divine  grace,  there  are  a 
number  of  principles  which  it  may  be  important  to  remember. 

( 1.)  God  being  Love,  it  is  a  part  of  his  nature  to  desire  to 
communicate  himself  to  all  moral  beings,  and  to  make  himself 
one  with  them  in  a  perfect  harmony  of  relations  and  feelings, 

vol.  it,  19* 


222  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

The  position  of  God  is  that  of  giver  ;  the  position  of  man  is 
that  of  recipient.  Harmonized  with  man  by  the  blood  and 
power  of  the  Cross,  he  has  once  more  become  the  infinite 
fulness,  the  original  and  overflowing  fountain,  giving  and 
ever  ready  to  give. 

(2.)  Such  are  the  relations  between  God  and  man,  in- 
volved in  the  fact  of  man's  moral  agency,  that  man's  business 
is  to  receive  ;  in  other  words,  which  are  perhaps  better,  be- 
cause they  imply  not  only  reception,  but  power  and  activity 
in  reception,  it  is  his  business  to  cooperate  with  what  God 
gives. 

(3.)  Souls  that  are  true  to  the  grace  that  is  given  them, 
will  never  suffer  any  diminution  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  the 
great  and  unchangeable  condition  of  continuance  and  of 
growth  in  grace  is  cooperation  with  what  we  now  have. 
This  is  the  law  of  growth.  It  is  a  law,  not  only  deducible 
from  the  divine  nature,  but  is  expressly  revealed  and  de- 
clared in  the  Scriptures  :  — "For  whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall 
be  given,  and  he  shall  have  more  abundance  ;  but  whosoever 
hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he  hath." 
Matt.  xiii.  12. 

I  repeat,  therefore,  that  a  faithful  cooperation  with  grace, 
as  it  is  given  at  the  present  moment,  is  the  most  effectual 
preparation  for  attracting  and  receiving  and  increasing  the 
grace  of  the  next  moment.  This  is  the  great  secret  of  ad- 
vancement to  those  high  degrees  which  are  permitted  ; 
namely,  a  strict,  unwavering,  faithful  cooperation,  moment 
by  moment. 

(4.)  It  is  important  correctly  to  understand  the  doctrine 
of  cooperation.  A  disposition  to  cooperate,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  terms,  is  not  more  opposed  to  the  sinful  indolence 
which  falls  behind,  than  to  the  hasty  and  unrighteous  zeal 
which  runs  before.  God  is  our  guide.  Let  the  reader  sup- 
pose himself  to  be  in  an  unknown  country,  crossed  by  numer- 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  223 

ous  roads,  and  tangled  and  perplexed  by  intricate  forests, 
requiring  him,  as  the  only  method  of  success  in  his  journey, 
to  employ  some  person  to  point  out  the  way.  But  in  his 
self-confidence  he  continually  runs  before  his  guide ;  and, 
relying  upon  his  own  conjectures,  enters  sometimes  upon 
one  path  and  sometimes  upon  another.  What  want  of  re- 
spect and  confidence  does  he  not  show  to  his  guide  !  And 
to  what  perplexities  and  troubles  does  he  not  expose  him- 
self!  It  is  thus  when,  in  the  excess  of  zeal,  which  has  a 
good  appearance,  but  which  in  reality  has  unbelief  and  self 
at  the  bottom,  we  run  before  God. 

(5.)  True  cooperation,  therefore,  is  deliberate  and  peace- 
ful ;  always  having  a  watchful  regard  to  the  divine  provi- 
dences. Cooperation,  by  being  calm  and  peaceable,  does 
not  cease  to  be  efficacious.  Souls  that  are  in  this  purified 
but  tranquil  state  are  souls  of  power ;  watchful  and  trium- 
phant against  self;  resisting  temptation  in  its  various  forms  ; 
fighting  even  to  blood  against  sin.  But  it  is,  nevertheless,  a 
combat  which  is  free  from  the  turbulence  and  inconsistencies 
of  human  passion  ;  because  they  contend  in  the  presence  of 
God,  who  is  their  strength,  in  the  spirit  of  the  highest  faith 
and  love,  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is 
always  tranquil  in  his  operations. 

ARTICLE    TWELFTH. 

Those  in  the  highest  state  of  religious  experience  desire 
nothing,  except  that  God  may  be  glorified  in  them  by  the 
accomplishment  of  his  holy  will.  Nor  is  it  inconsistent  with 
this  to  add,  that  holy  souls  possess  that  natural  love  which 
exists  in  the  form  of  love  for  themselves.  Their  natural 
love,  however,  which,  within  its  proper  degree,  is  innocent 
love,  is  so  absorbed  in  the  love  of  God,  that  it  ceases,  for  the 
most  part,  to  be  a  distinct  object  of  consciousness ;  and  prac- 
tically and  truly  they  may  be  said  to  love  themselves  in  and 


224  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPEDIENCE 

for  God.  Adain,  in  liis  state  of  innocence,  loved  himself 
considered  as  the  reflex  image  of  God  and  for  God's  sake. 
So  that  we  may  either  say,  that  he  loved  God  in  himself,  or 
that  he  loved  himself  in  and  for  God.  And  it  is  because 
holy  souls,  extending  their  affections  beyond  their  own  limit, 
love  their  neighbor  on  the  same  principle  of  loving,  namely, 
in  and  for  God,  that  they  may  be  said  to  love  their  neighbor 
as  themselves. 

It  does  not  follow,  because  the  love  of  ourselves  is  lost  in 
the  love  of  God,  that  we  are  to  take  no  care,  and  to  exercise 
no  watch  over  ourselves.  No  man  will  be  so  seriously  and 
constantly  watchful  over  himself  as  he  who  loves  himself  in 
and  for  God  alone.  Having  the  image  of  God  in  himself, 
he  has  a  motive,  strong,  we  might  perhaps  say,  as  that 
which  controls  the  actions  of  angels,  to  guard  and  protect  it. 

It  may  be  thought  perhaps,  that  this  is  inconsistent  with 
the  principle  in  the  doctrines  of  holy  living,  which  requires 
us,  in  the  highest  stages  of  inward  experience,  to  avoid  as 
much  as  possible  those  reflex  acts  which  consist  in  self- 
inspection,  because  such  acts  have  a  tendency  to  turn  the 
mind  off  from  God.  The  apparent  difficulty  is  reconciled  in 
this  way.  The  holy  soul  is  a  soul  with  God ;  moving  as 
God  moves  ;  doing  as  God  does  ;  looking  as  God  looks.  If, 
therefore,  God  is  looking  within  us,  as  we  may  generally 
learn  from  the  intimations  of  his  providences,  then  it  is  a 
sign  that  we  are  to  look  within  ourselves.  Our  little  eye, 
our  small  and  almost  imperceptible  ray,  must  look  in,  in  the 
midst  of  the  light  of  his  great  and  burning  eye.  It  is  thus 
that  we  may  inspect  ourselves  without  a  separation  from 
God. 

On  the  same  principle,  and  in  the  same  way,  we  may  be 
watchful  and  careful  over  our  neighbors ;  watching  them, 
not  in  our  own  time,  but  in  God's  time ;  not  in  the  censori- 
ousness  of  nature,  but  in  the  kindness  and  forbearance  of 


OF    .MADAME    GUYON.  225 

grace ;   not  as  separate  from  God,  but  in  concurrence  with 
him. 

ARTICLE   THIRTEENTH. 

The  soul,  in  the  state  of  pure  love,  acts  in  simplicity.  It9 
inward  rule  of  action  is  found  in  the  decisions  of  a  sanctified 
conscience.  These  decisions,  based  upon  judgments  that  are 
free  from  self-interest,  may  not  always  be  absolutely  right, 
because  our  views  and  judgments,  being  limited,  can  extend 
only  to  things  in  part ;  but  they  may  be  said  to  be  relatively 
right:  they  conform  to  things  so  far  as  we  are  permitted  to 
see  them  and  understand  them,  and  convey  to  the  soul  a 
moral  assurance,  that,  when  we  act  in  accordance  with  them, 
we  are  doing  as  God  would  have  us  do.  Such  a  conscience 
is  enlightened  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  when  we  act  thus, 
under  its  divine  guidance,  looking  at  what  now  is  and  not  at 
what  may  be,  looking  at  the  right  of  things  and  not  at  their 
relations  to  our  personal  and  selfish  interests,  we  are  said  to 
act  in  simplicity.     This  is  the  true  mode  of  action. 

It  is  a  practical  principle,  connected  with  the  laws  of  holy 
living,  that,  when  we  act  in  the  manner  which  has  been  men- 
tioned, we  should  leave  the  principle  or  motive  of  the  action 
with  God,  without  distrust  or  anxiety,  just  as  we  leave  any 
thing  else.  Look  at  the  facts  and  relations  of  things  just  as 
they  are  presented ;  be  sure  that  the  soul  is  free  from  any 
selfish  bias  whatever ;  and  then,  with  humble  reliance  on 
God,  decide,  and  leave  it,  both  the  action  and  the  motive  of 
the  action,  calmly  and  for  ever,  in  his  eternal  keeping.  Trust 
God  in  this  as  in  every  thing  else  ;  and,  having  thus  accom- 
plished the  duty  of  the  present  moment,  let  the  soul  pass  on 
in  its  simplicity,  without  reflex  and  disquieting  acts,  to  the  du- 
ties, which  require  all  its  powers,  of  the  moment  that  follows. 

It  is  thus,  in  this  singleness  of  spirit,  we  do  things,  as  some 
experimental  writers  express  it,  without  knowing  what  tve 
do.     That  is  to  say,  we  are  so  absorbed  in  the  thing  to  be 


22  G  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

done,  and  in  the  importance  of  doing  it  rightly,  that  we 
forget  ourselves.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  angels  may  be 
supposed  to  act.  They  are  not  occupied  chiefly,  and  per- 
haps not  at  all,  in  the  analysis  of  their  own  motives  and 
feelings  ;  but  with  the  object  of  those  feelings,  namely,  God. 
Perfect  love  has  nothing  to  spare  from  its  object  for  itself. 
And  it  is  the  same  with  perfect  prayer.  He  who  prays 
perfectly  is  never  thinking  how  well  he  prays.  And  it  is 
in  accordance  with  this  view,  that  we  find  in  the  writings  of 
Cassian  a  remark  of  St.  Anthony,  that  "  prayer  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  perfect,  when  he  who  offers  it  knows  that  he 
prays  ;  "  implying  that  reflex  acts,  or  acts  reflecting  upon  a 
thing  done,  at  the  time  of  its  being  done,  necessarily  hinder 
and  mar  the  completeness  or  perfection  of  the  doing. 

ARTICLE   FOURTEENTH. 

Holy  souls  are  without  impatience,  but  not  without  trouble  ; 
are  above  murmuring,  but  not  above  affliction.  The  souls  of 
those  who  are  thus  wholly  in  Christ  may  be  regarded  in 
two  points  of  view,  or  rather  in  two  parts;  namely,  the 
natural  appetites,  propensities,  and  affections,  on  the  one 
hand,  which  may  be  called  the  inferior  part  ;  and  the 
judgment,  the  moral  sense,  and  the  will,  on  the  other,  which 
may  be  described  as  the  superior  part.  As  things  are, 
in  the  present  life,  those  who  are  wholly  devoted  to  God 
may  suffer  in  the  inferior  part,  and  may  be  at  rest  in  the 
superior.  Their  wills  may  be  in  harmony  with  the  divine 
will ;  they  may  be  approved  in  their  judgments  and  con- 
science, and  at  the  same  time  may  suffer  greatly  in  their 
physical  relations,  and  in  their  natural  sensibilities.  In 
this  manner,  Christ  upon  the  cross,  while  his  will  remained 
firm  in  its  union  with  the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father,  suf- 
fered much  through  his  physical  system  ;  he  felt  the  painful 
longings  of  thirst,  the  pressure  of  the  thorns,  and  the  agony 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  227 

of  the  spear.  He  was  deeply  afflicted  also  for  the  friends  he 
left  behind  him,  and  for  a  dying  world.  But  in  his  inner 
and  higher  nature,  where  he  felt  himself  sustained  by  the 
secret  voice  uttered  in  his  sanctified  conscience  and  in  his 
unchangeable  faith,  he  was  peaceful  and  happy. 

ARTICLE  FIFTEENTH. 

A  suitable  repression  of  the  natural  appetites  is  profitable 
and  necessary.  We  are  told,  that  the  body  should  be  brought 
into  subjection.  Those  physical  mortifications,  therefore, 
which  are  instituted  to  this  end,  and  which  are  denominated 
austerities,  are  not  to  be  disapproved.  When  practised  within 
proper  limits,  they  tend  to  correct  evil  habits,  to  preserve  us 
against  temptation,  and  to  give  self-control. 

The  practice  of  austerities,  with  the  views  and  on  the 
principles  indicated,  should  be  accompanied  with  the  spirit 
of  recollection,  of  love,  and  prayer.  Christ  himself,  whose 
retirement  to  solitary  places,  whose  prayers  and  fastings  are 
not  to  be  forgotten,  has  given  us  the  pattern  which  it  is 
proper  for  us  to  follow.  We  must  sometimes  use  force 
against  our  stubborn  nature.  "  Since  the  days  of  John,  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence  ;  and  the  violent  take 
it  by  force." 

ARTICLE    SIXTEENTH. 

The  simple  desire  of  our  own  happiness,  when  kept  in 
due  subordination,  is  innocent.  This  desire  is  natural  to  us ; 
and  is  properly  denominated  the  principle  of  self-love. 
When  the  principle  of  self-love  passes  in  its  action  its  appro- 
priate limit,  it  becomes  selfishness.  Self-love  is  innocent; 
selfishness  is  wrong.  Selfishness  was  the  sin  of  the  first 
angel,  "  who  rested  in  himself,"  as  St.  Augustine  expresses 
it,  instead  of  referring  himself  to  God. 

We  repeat,  that  we  may  desire  and  love  our  own  happi- 
ness in  proper  subordination  to  the  will  of  God,  and  be  inno- 


228  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

cent  in  it.     In  many  Christians,  a  prominent  principle  of 
action  is  the  desire  of  happiness. 

They  love  God  and  they  love  heaven  ;  they  love  holiness, 
and  they  love  the  pleasures  of  holiness;  they  love  to  do 
good,  and  they  love  the  rewards  of  doing  good.  This  is 
well ;  but  there  is  something  better.  Such  Christians,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  are  inferior,  in  their  degree  of  advancement,  to 
those  who,  having  learned  that  the  finite  and  infinite  are  in- 
commensurable and  cannot  be  subjected  to  the  degrees  of 
comparison,  and  forgetting  the  nothingness  of  the  creature  in 
the  infinitude  of  the  Creator,  love  God  for  his  own  glory  alone. 

Souls  in  this  higher  state  may  not  only  be  said  to  be  free 
from  selfishness,  but  in  a  certain  sense  to  be  free  from  self. 
That  is  to  say,  they  forget  themselves  that  they  may  think 
only  of  God ;  they  forget  their  own  will  that  they  may  think 
only  of  God's  will.     "  Their  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 

ARTICLE  SEVENTEENTH. 

There  is  no  period  of  the  Christian  life  which  is  exempt 
from  temptation.  The  temptations,  which  are  incident  to 
the  earlier  stages  of  Christian  experience,  are  in  some  re- 
spects different,  as  would  naturally  be  supposed,  from  those 
which  are  incident  to  a  later  period ;  and  I  think  we  may 
properly  add,  are  to  be  resisted  in  a  somewhat  different 
manner.  Experienced  religious  teachers  will  know  what 
directions  it  is  proper  to  give  in  different  cases. 

Sometimes  the  temptations,  which  are  incident  to  what  may 
perhaps  be  called  the  transition  state  from  mixed  love  to  pure 
love,  are  somewhat  peculiar ;  being  adapted  to  test  the  ques- 
tion to  our  own  satisfaction,  whether  we  love  God  for  himself 
alone.  We  should  naturally  suppose,  that  inward  trials,  exist- 
ing under  such  circumstances,  would  be  severe.  Sometimes 
persons  judge  of  the  state  of  their  religious  advancement  by 
the  nature  of  the  temptations  to  which  they  are  subject. 


Or    MADAME    GUYON.  229 

But  this  method  of  judging,  which  is  liable  to  lead  into  error, 
requires  great  caution. 

In  the  lower  or  mixed  state  of  the  Christian  life  the 
methods  of  resisting  temptations  are  various.  Sometimes 
the  subject  of  these  trials  boldly  faces  them,  if  we  may  so 
express  it,  and  endeavors  to  overcome  them  by  a  direct  re- 
sistance. Sometimes  he  turns  and  flees.  But  in  the  state 
of  pure  love,  when  the  soul  has  become  strong  in  the  divine 
contemplation,  it  is  the  common  rule  laid  down  by  religious 
writers,  that  the  soul  should  keep  itself  fixed  upon  God  in 
the  exercise  of  its  holy  love  as  at  other  times,  as  the  most 
effectual  way  of  resisting  the  temptation,  which  would  natu- 
rally expand  its  efforts  in  vain  upon  a  soul  in  that  state. 

AKTICLE   EIGHTEENTH. 

The  will  of  God  is  the  ultimate  and  only  rule  of  action. 
God  manifests  his  will  in  various  ways.  The  will  of  God 
may  in  some  cases  be  ascertained  by  the  operations  of  the 
human  mind,  especially  when  they  are  under  a  religious  or 
gracious  guidance.  But  he  reveals  his  will  chiefly  in  his 
written  word.  And  nothing  can  be  declared  to  be  the  will 
of  God,  which  is  at  variance  with  his  written  or  revealed 
will.  His  revealed  will  may  also  be  called  his  positive  will ; 
a  will  which  commands  and  requires. 

In  addition  to  this,  there  is  what  may  be  called  his  per- 
missive will ;  a  will  which  suffers  sin  without  approving  it. 
The  same  will  which  permits  it,  condemns  it.  It  does  not 
permit  it  by  a  positive  declaration  to  that  effect ;  but  only 
by  giving  way,  as  it  were,  to  the  commission  of  it,  and  not 
hindering  it.  This  permissive  will  is  never  our  rule  of 
action.  It  would  be  an  act  of  impiety  to  will  our  sin,  under 
the  pretence  that  God  wills  it  permissively. 

If  we  sin,  it  is  true  that  God  permits  it ;  that  is  to  say, 
he  does  not  interpose  against  it  a  positive  act  of  hindrance  ; 

vol.  ti.  20 


230  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

but  it  is  also  true,  that  he  disapproves  and  condemns  it  as 
contrary  to  his  immutable  holiness. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  sinner  to  repent.  The  state  of 
penitence  has  temptations  peculiar  to  itself.  The  subject 
of  it  is  sometimes  tempted  to  murmuring  and  rebellious  feel- 
ings, as  if  he  had  been  unjustly  left  of  God.  When  peni- 
tence is  true,  and  when,  existing  in  the  highest  state,  it  is 
free  from  the  variations  of  human  passion,  it  is  calm,  peace- 
able, submissive. 

ARTICLE   NINETEENTH. 

Among  other  distinctions  of  prayer,  we  may  make  that  of 
vocal  and  silent,  the  prayer  of  the  lips  and  the  prayer  of  the 
affections.  Vocal  prayer,  without  the  prayer  of  the  heart 
attending  it,  is  a  superstitious  and  wholly  unprofitable  wor- 
ship. It  is  better  to  recite  but  a  few  words  with  inward 
recollection  and  love,  than  long  prayers  without  them.  To 
pray  without  recollection  in  God  and  without  love,  is  to  pray 
as  the  heathen  did,  who  thought  to  be  heard  for  the  multi- 
tude of  their  words. 

Nevertheless,  vocal  prayer,  when  attended  by  right  affec- 
tions, ought  to  be  both  recognized  and  encouraged,  as  being 
calculated  to  strengthen  the  thoughts  and  feelings  it  ex- 
presses and  to  awaken  new  ones,  and  also  for  the  reason  that 
it  was  taught  by  the  Son  of  God  to  his  apostles,  and  that  it 
has  been  practised  by  the  whole  church  in  all  ages.  To 
make  light  of  this  sacrifice  of  praise,  this  fruit  of  the  lips, 
would  be  an  impiety. 

Silent  prayer,  in  its  common  form,  is  also  profitable.  Each 
has  its  peculiar  advantages,  as  each  has  its  place,  which  will 
be  indicated  by  the  feelings  and  situation  of  the  person  who 
prays. 

•  There  is  also  a  modification  of  prayer,  which  may  be 
termed  the  prayer  of  silence.  This  is  a  prayer  too  deep  for 
words.    The  common  form  of  silent  prayer  is  voluntary.    In 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  231 

the  prayer  of  contemplative  silence,  the  lips  seem  to  be 
closed  almost  against  the  will.  We  have  God  at  such  times. 
What  else  can  we  have  ?  What  else  can  we  ask  for  ?  Per- 
sons who  are  the  subjects  of  unselfish  or  pure  love,  are  much 
in  this  state.  But  it  is  a  state  which  is  not  at  all  inconsist- 
ent with  specific  and  vocal  prayer  on  its  appropriate  occa- 
sions. Those  who  are  entirely  united  to  God,  pray  just  as 
God  would  have  them  to  pray  ;  and  of  course  the  form  of 
their  prayer  will  vary  with  the  intimations  and  calls  of  his 
providence. 

ARTICLE   TWENTIETH. 

The  principles  of  holy  living  extend,  in  their  application, 
not  only  to  the  affections  and  the  ordinary  outward  actions, 
but  to  every  thing.  For  instance,  in  the  matter  of  reading, 
he  who  has  given  himself  wholly  to  God,  can  read  only  what 
God  permits  him  to  read.  He  cannot  read  books,  however 
they  may  be  characterized  by  wit  or  power,  merely  to  in- 
dulge an  idle  curiosity,  or  in  any  other  way  to  please  him- 
self alone.  If  we  look  to  God  for  direction  in  the  spirit  of 
humility,  we  may  reasonably  hope  to  be  guided  aright  in  this 
thing  as  in  others.  As  a  subordinate  means  of  such  guid- 
ance, it  is  proper  for  us,  not  only  to  exercise  our  own  judg- 
ments with  care,  but  to  consult  the  opinions  of  religious 
friends  and  teachers. 

In  the  reading  of  religious  books,  I  think  this  may  be  a 
suitable  direction,  namely,  to  read  but  little  at  a  time,  and  to 
interrupt  the  reading  by  intervals  of  religious  recollection,  in 
order  that  we  may  let  the  Holy  Spirit  more  deeply  imprint 
in  us  the  Christian  truths  to  which  we  are  attending.  When 
the  state  of  recollection  turns  our  minds  from  the  truths  of 
the  book  to  the  object  of  those  truths,  so  much  so  that  our 
desires  are  no  longer  upon  the  book,  we  may  let  it  fall  from 
our  hands  without  scruple. 

God,  in  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  becomes  to  the 


232  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

fully  renovated  mind  the  great  inward  Teacher.  This  is  a 
great  truth.  At  the  same  time  we  are  not  to  suppose  that 
the  presence  of  the  inward  teacher  exempts  us  from  the 
necessity  of  the  outward  lesson.  The  Holy  Ghost,  operating 
through  the  medium  of  a  purified  judgment,  teaches  us  by 
the  means  of  books,  especially  by  the  word  of  God,  which  is 
never  to  be  laid  aside. 

ARTICLE   TWENTY-FIRST 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  lower  states  of  religious 
experience  is,  that  they  are  sustained,  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, by  meditative  and  reflective  acts.  As  in  these  states 
faith  is  comparatively  weak  and  temptations  are  strong,  it 
becomes  necessary  for  those  who  are  not  advanced  beyond 
them,  to  strengthen  themselves  by  such  meditative  and  re- 
flective acts,  by  the  consideration  of  various  truths  applica- 
ble to  their  situation,  and  of  the  motives  drawn  from  such 
truths,  aided  more  or  less  by  the  influence  of  other  truths 
and  other  motives.  Accordingly,  souls,  in  these  inferior 
states,  array  before  themselves  all  the  various  motives  drawn 
from  the  consideration  of  misery  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
happiness  on  the  other;  all  the  motives  of  fear  and  hope. 

It  is  different  with  those  who  have  given  themselves 
wholly  to  God  in  the  exercise  of  pure  or  perfect  love.  The 
soul  that  is  in  this  state  of  holy  love,  does  not  find  it  neces- 
sary to  delay  and  to  meditate,  and  to  reflect,  in  order  to 
discover  motives  of  action.  It  finds  its  motive  of  action  a 
motive  simple,  uniform,  peaceable,  and  still  powerful  beyond 
any  other  power,  in  its  own  principle  of  life,  namely,  its 
overflowing  and  pure  love. 

St.  Anthony  calls  this  state  of  the  soul  the  "  perfect 
prayer ;"  a  state  which  is  so  little  taken  up  with  itself  and 
so  much  occupied  with  the  object  of  it,  that  it  seems  to  be 
hardly  conscious  of  its   own   existence.     It  does  not  stop  to 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  233 

think  and  reason  ;  nothing  can  be  more  simple  than  its 
movement ;  the  whole  amount  of  its  exercises  towards  God 
may  be  described  in  two  words,  looking  and  loving.  It 
looks,  and  it  loves ;  and  its  love  is  the  principle  of  its  life. 
To  meditate  and  to  reason,  in  order  to  strengthen  such  love, 
would  only  tend  to  perplex  and  to  diminish  it.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "  Pure  love  stands  alone  ; 
not  supported  by  the  reward  it  might  claim,  or  by  the  pleas- 
ure which  may  attend  it,  but  having  its  life  in  itself." 

In  order  to  prevent  misapprehension,  it  ought  to  be  added 
here,  that  meditation,  inquiry,  and  reasoning,  are  not  meant 
to  be  condemned.  They  are  exceedingly  necessary  to  the 
great  body  of  Christians  ;  and  are  absolutely  indispensable 
to  those,  who  are  in  the  beginnings  of  the  Christian  life.  To 
take  away  these  helps  would  be  to  take  away  the  child  from 
the  maternal  breast  before  it  can  digest  solid  food.  Still 
they  are  only  the  props  of  the  true  life,  and  not  the  life 
itself. 

ARTICLE    TWENTY-SECOND. 

The  holy  soul  delights  in  acts  of  contemplation  ;  to  think 
of  God  and  of  God  only.  But  the  contemplative  state,  ex- 
isting without  any  interruption,  is  hardly  consistent  with  the 
condition  of  things  in  the  present  life.  It  may  be  permitted 
to  exist,  however,  and  ought  not  to  be  resisted  in  its  approach, 
when  the  attraction  towards  God  is  so  strong,  that  we  find 
'ourselves  incapable  of  profitably  employing  our  minds  in 
meditative  and  discursive  acts.  Indeed,  so  much  time  as 
God  in  his  providence,  who  takes  into  view  our  situation 
and  duties,  will  allow  to  be  spent  in  this  way,  cannot  fail  to 
be  highly  profitable  as  well  as  happy. 

This  is  the  doctrine  of  many  experimental  and  theological 
writers ;  —  of  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  of  St.  Gregory 
Nazianzen,  St.  Augustine,  Pope  St.  Gregory  St.  Thomas, 
Bernard,  Cassian,  and  others. 

vol.  it.  20  * 


234  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ARTICLE  TWENTY-THIRD. 

Of  the  two  states,  the  meditative  and  discursive  on  the 
one  hand,  which  reflects,  compares,  and  reasons,  and  sup- 
ports itself  by  aids  and  methods  of  that  nature,  and  the  con- 
templative on  the  other,  which  rests  in  God  without  such 
aids,  the  contemplative  is  the  highest.  It  is  a  state  which 
is  not  only  to  be  permitted,  but  is  to  be  desired  and  sought 
after ;  and  nothing  short  of  those  seasons  of  intimate  and 
peaceful  communion,  which  are  involved  in  it,  will  satisfy 
the  souls  that  are  called  to  it.  Still  it  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  meditative  state,  on  the  appropriate  occasions  of  the 
latter.  God  will  teach  the  times  of  both.  John  of  the  Cross, 
in  his  work  entitled  the  Flame  of  Love,  coincides  with  this 
view.  As  also  does  Father  Balthazar  Alvarez,  who  says 
that  one  ought  to  take  the  oar  of  meditation  when  the  wind 
of  contemplation  does  not  strike  into  the  sails.  Neither 
state  is,  or  ought  to  be,  entirely  exclusive  of  the  other. 

ARTICLE   TWENTY-FOURTH. 

It  is  consistent  with  what  is  said  in  the  last  article,  when 
we  add,  that  in  some  cases  God  gives  such  eminent  grace, 
that  the  contemplative  prayer,  which  is  essentially  the  same 
with  the  prayer  of  silence,  becomes  the  habitual  state.  We 
do  not  mean,  that  the  mind  is  always  in  this  state ;  but  that, 
whenever  the  season  of  recollection  and  of  prayer  returns, 
whether  more  or  less  frequently,  it  habitually,  by  the  strong 
instinct  of  its  abundant  love,  assumes  the  contemplative  state, 
in  distinction  from  the  meditative  and  discursive.  Having 
God,  it  has  every  thing,  and  it  rests  there.  And  it  does  so 
because  God  chooses  and  wills  it. 

It  does  not  follow  from  what  has  been  said,  that  this  state, 
eminent  as  it  is,  is  invariable.  Souls  may  fall  from  this 
state  by  some  act  of  infidelity  in  themselves ;  or  God,  for 
reasons  known  only  to  himself,  may  place  them  temporarily 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  235 

in  a  different  state,  and  without  any  diminution  of  their  holy 
love. 

ARTICLE    TWENTY-FIFTH. 

"  Whether,  therefore"  says  the  apostle,  "ye  eat,  or  drink,  or 
whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  things  to  the  glory  of  God"  1st  Cor. 
x.  31.  And  in  another  passage  he  says,  "Let  all  things  be 
done  with  charity."  1st  Cor.  xvi.  14.  And  again,  "By  love 
serve  one  another"  Gal.  v.  13.  Passages  which,  with  many 
others,  imply  two  things ;  first,  that  every  thing  which  is 
done  by  the  Christian  ought  to  be  done  from  a  holy  princi- 
ple ;  and,  second,  that  this  principle  is  love. 

Persons  who  live  and  act  in  this  manner,  doing  every 
thing  in  the  spirit  of  holy  love,  may  justly  be  regarded,  I 
think,  as  fulfilling  the  requisition  of  the  apostle,  found  in 
another  place,  "Pray  without  ceasing."  Their  continual  life 
of  love,  which  refers  every  thing  to  God  and  identifies  every 
thing  with  his  will,  is  essentially  a  life  of  continual  prayer. 

But  the  state  of  continual  prayer,  as  we  have  now  de- 
scribed it,  —  a  state  which  is  adapted  during  our  conscious 
moments  to  all  times  and  all  situations,  —  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  that  state  of  adoring  contemplation  to  which 
we  have  referred  in  some  of  the  preceding  articles.  Cassian 
correctly  remarks,  that  the  state  of  pure  contemplation,  —  a 
state  which  keeps  the  mind  exclusively  fixed  upon  God  as 
the  sole  object  of  its  thoughts  and  affections,  —  "  is  never  ab- 
solutely perpetual  in  this  life."  But  the  state  of  holy  love, 
including  and  involving  that  of  prayer,  may  be  so. 

ARTICLE  TWENTY-SIXTH. 

Our  acceptance  with  God,  when  our  hearts  are  wholly 
given  to  him,  does  not  depend  upon  our  being  in  a  particular 
state,  which  may  seem  to  be  more  devout  or  eminent  than 
another,  but  simply  upon  our  being  in  that  state  in  which 
God  in  his  providence  requires  us  to  be.      The  doctrine 


236  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  holiness,  therefore,  while  it  recognizes  and  requires,  on 
its  appropriate  occasions,  the  prayer  of  contemplation  or 
of  contemplative  silence,  is  not  only  not  inconsistent  with 
other  forms  of  prayer,  but  is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  the 
practice  of  the  ordinary  acts,  duties,  and  virtues  of  life.  It 
would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose,  that  a  man  who  bears 
the  Saviour's  image,  is  any  the  less  on  that  account  a  good 
neighbor  or  a  good  citizen ;  that  he  can  think  less  or  work 
less  when  he  is  called  to  it ;  or  that  he  is  not  characterized 
by  the  various  virtues,  appropriate  to  our  present  situation, 
of  temperance,  truth,  forbearance,  forgiveness,  kindness,  chas- 
tity, justice.  There  is  a  law,  involved  in  the  very  nature 
of  holiness,  which  requires  it  to  adapt  itself  to  every  variety 
of  situation.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  that 
the  principle  of  holy  love,  always  the  same  in  its  essence, 
may  assume,  under  circumstances  which  are  not  the  same, 
specific  modifications  differing  from  each  other,  and  may  at 
such  times  bear  different  and  specific  names.  St.  Bernard, 
St.  Theresa,  and  John  of  the  Cross,  coincide  in  the  views  of 
this  article. 

ARTICLE    TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  Dionysius  the  Are- 
ojmgite,  to  say,  that  the  holy  soul,  in  its  contemplative  state, 
is  occupied  with  the  pure  or  spiritual  Divinity.  That  is  to 
say,  it  is  occupied  with  God,  in  distinction  from  any  mere 
image  of  God,  such  as  could  be  addressed  to  the  touch,  the 
sight,  or  any  of  the  senses ;  a  doctrine  which  will  appear  the 
less  objectionable  when  we  call  to  mind  a  remark  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, that  the  capacity  of  the  soul  is  such  as  to  enable  it 
to  have  ideas  independently  of  the  direct  action  of  the  senses ; 
and  which,  therefore,  represent  things  that  are  not  charac- 
terized by  extension  and  form,  or  any  other  attributes  that 
are  visible  and  tangible.     It  is  God  represented  in  the  intel- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  237 

lectual  rather  than  the  outward  or  sensuous  idea,  which  the 
holy  soul  loves  to  contemplate. 

And  this  is  not  all.  It  does  not  satisfy  the  desires  of  the 
soul  in  its  contemplative  state,  to  occupy  itself  merely  with 
the  attributes  of  God ;  with  his  power,  wisdom,  goodness, 
and  the  like ;  but  it  rather  seeks  and  unites  itself  with 
the  God  of  the  attributes.  The  attributes  of  God  are  not 
God  himself.  The  power  of  God  is  not  an  identical  expres- 
sion with  the  God  of  power;  nor  is  the  wisdom  of  God  iden- 
tical with  the  God  of  wisdom.  The  holy  soul,  in  its  contem- 
plative state,  loves  to  unite  itself  with  God,  considered  as  the 
subject  of  his  attributes.  It  is  not  infinite  wisdom,  infinite 
power,  or  infinite  goodness,  considered  separately  from  the 
existence  of  whom  they  can  be  predicated,  which  it  loves 
and  adores ;  but  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness. 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  from  this,  however,  that  the 
attributes  of  God  are  not,  at  proper  times,  to  be  made  the 
subject  of  examination  and  contemplation ;  although  such 
an  examination,  deliberately  prosecuted,  might  be  inconsist- 
ent with  the  existence,  for  the  time  being,  of  that  contem- 
plative state  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 

[See,  in  connection  with  this  article,  which  is  given  like  the 
others  in  an  abridged  and  interpreted  form,  the  remarks  of  Ma- 
dame Guy  on  at  page  1 5  7.] 

ARTICLE    TWENTY-EIGHTH. 

Christ  is  "  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life."  The 
grace  which  sanctifies  as  well  as  that  which  justifies,  is  by 
him  and  through  him.  He  is  the  true  and  living  way  ;  and 
no  man  can  gain  the  victory  over  sin,  and  be  brought  into 
union  Avith  God,  without  Christ.  And  when,  in  some  miti- 
gated sense,  we  may  be  said  to  have  arrived  at  the  end  of 
the  way  by  being  brought  home  to  the  divine  fold  and  rein- 


238  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

stated  in  the  divine  image,  it  would  be  sad  indeed  if  we 
should  forget  the  way  itself,  as  Christ  is  sometimes  called. 
At  every  period  of  our  progress,  however  advanced  it  may 
be,  our  life  is  derived  from  God  through  him  and  for  him. 
The  most  advanced  souls  are  those  which  are  most  possessed 
with  the  thoughts  and  the  presence  of  Christ.  They  often 
find  themselves  placed  in  the  same  states  and  dispositions 
in  which  they  suppose  him  to  have  been.  They  often  see 
nothing  but  Christ  in  themselves.  They  speak  with  him 
every  hour,  as  the  bride  with  her  bridegroom.  He  becomes 
something  so  intimate  in  their  hearts,  that  they  look  on  him 
less  as  a  foreign  and  external  object,  than  as  the  internal 
principle  of  their  life. 

Any  other  view  would  be  extremely  pernicious.  It  would 
be  to  snatch  from  the  faithful  eternal  life,  which  consists  in 
knowing  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ  his  Son,  whom 
he  hath  sent 

ARTICLE  TWENTY-NINTH. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  suppose,  that  the  way  of  holiness  is 
a  miraculous  way.  It  is  wonderful,  but  it  is  not  miraculous. 
Those  who  are  in  it,  walk  by  simple  faith  alone.  And  per- 
haps there  is  nothing  more  remarkable  or  wonderful  in  it, 
than  that  a  result  so  great  as  that  of  the  purification  of  the 
heart,  should  be  produced  by  a  principle  so  simple. 

When  persons  have  arrived  at  the  state  of  divine  union, 
so  that,  in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  the  Saviour,  they 
are  made  one  with  Christ  in  God,  they  no  longer  seem  to 
put  forth  distinct  inward  acts,  but  their  state  appears  to  be 
characterized  by  a  deep  and  divine  repose.  And  hence  it 
is,  that  some  religious  writers  —  for  instance,  St.  Francis  of 
Assissium  in  his  great  religious  song,  the  Flame  of  Love  — 
have  made  the  remark,  that  souls  in  this  state  are  no  longer 
able  to  perform  distinct  acts.     Gregory  Lopez  has  also  in- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  239 

formed  us,  that,  after  he  had  arrived  at  a  certain  point  in 
his  religious  experience,  the  state  of  his  mind,  in  its  religious 
nature,  became  fixed  and  one  ;  so  that  its  whole  subsequent 
history  seemed  to  be  but  one  act. 

The  continuous  act,  of  which  these  pious  persons  speak,  is 
the  act  of  faith  ;  faith  which  brings  them  into  moral  and  reli- 
gious union  with  the  divine  nature ;  faith  which,  through  the 
plenitude  of  divine  grace,  is  kept  firm,  unbroken. 

The  continuous  act  of  faith,  which  seems  to  be  but  one 
act  continued  perhaps  through  many  years,  is  probably  con- 
stituted of  many  successive  acts ;  but  these  successive  acts, 
constantly  following  each  other  without  the  interruptions  of 
unbelief,  and  possessing  an  uniform  character  in  their  degree 
of  strength  as  well  as  in  their  nature,  exhibit  in  this  way  a 
likeness  to  each  other ;  and  thus  many  successive  acts  are 
assimilated  into  the  appearance  of  one.  They  have  not  only 
the  appearance  of  one,  but  the  effect  of  one. 

The  appearance  of  absolute  continuity  and  unity  in  this 
blessed  state  is  increased  perhaps  by  the  entire  freedom  of 
the  mind  from  all  eager,  anxious,  unquiet  acts.  The  soul  is 
not  only  at  unity  with  itself  in  the  respects  which  have  been 
mentioned,  but  it  has  also  a  unity  of  rest. 

This  state  of  continuous  faith  and  of  consequent  repose  in 
God  is  sometimes  denominated  the  passive  state ;  an  epithet 
which  has  an  appropriate  meaning,  although  it  is  liable  to  be 
misunderstood.  The- soul,  at  such  times,  is  passive  in  this 
sense,  that  it  ceases  to  originate  acts  which  precede  the 
grace  of  God.  The  decisions  of  her  consecrated  judgment, 
guided  as  they  are  by  a  higher  power,  are  the  voice  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul.  But  to  the  decisions  and  import  of 
this  voice,  if  she  first  listens  passively,  it  is  subsequently  her 
business  to  yield  an  active  and  effective  cooperation  in  the 
line  of  duty  which  they  indicate.  The  more  pliant  and 
supple  the  soul  is  to  the  divine  suggestions,  the  more  real 


240  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

and  efficacious  is  her  own  action,  though  without  any  excited 
and  troubled  movement.  The  more  a  soul  receives  from 
God,  the  more  she  ought  to  restore  to  him  of  what  she  hath 
from  him.  This  ebbing  and  flowing,  if  one  may  so  express 
it,  this  communication  on  the  part  of  God  and  the  correspon- 
dent action  on  the  part  of  man,  constitute  the  order  of  grace 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  action  and  fidelity  of  the  creature 
on  the  other. 

A  single  remark  may  be  added.  It  is  sometimes  the  case, 
that,  in  the  state  of  transition  from  mixed  love  to  pure  love, 
the  soul  is  providentially  left  inert,  and  almost  incapable  of 
doing  any  thing,  in  order  to  wean  it  from  the  remains  of  un- 
belief and  selfishness,  existing  in  the  shape  of  inordinate 
attachment  to  its  own  activity.  This  is  a  peculiar  case,  dif- 
ferent from  any  others  which  have  been  mentioned. 

ARTICLE    THIRTIETH. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose,  that  the  highest  state 
of  inward  experience  is  characterized  by  great  excitements, 
by  raptures  and  ecstacies,  or  by  any  movements  of  feeling 
which  would  be  regarded  as  particularly  extraordinary.  We 
repeat,  that  the  way  of  holiness  is  the  way  of  simple  faith. 

One  of  the  remarkable  results  in  a  soul  of  which  faith  is 
the  sole  governing  principle,  is,  that  it  is  entirely  peaceful. 
Nothing  disturbs  it.  And  being  thus  peaceful,  it  reflects 
distinctly  and  clearly  the  image  of  Christ ;  like  the  placid 
lake,  which  shows,  in  its  own  clear  and  beautiful  bosom,  the 
exact  forms  of  the  objects  around  and  above  it.  Another  is, 
that  having  full  faith  in  God  and  divested  of  all  selfishness 
and  resistance  in  itself,  it  is  perfectly  accessible  and  pliable 
to  all  the  impressions  of  grace.  "A  dry  and  very  light 
feather,"  says  Cassian,  "is  carried  away  without  resistance 
by  the  least  breath  of  wind.  The  smallest  breath  carries  it 
with  great  quickness  in  all  sorts  of  ways  ;  whereas  if  it  were 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  241 

wet  and  heavy,  it  would  be  obstructed  by  its  own  weight, 
and  be  less  apt  to  be  moved  and  carried  about.  Thus  the 
soul,  in  the  state  of  pure  love,  moves  with  infinite  ease  under 
the  divine  impression ;  but  in  the  imperfect  and  mixed  state, 
rendered  heavy,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  by  its  selfishness 
and  fears,  it  resists  and  grieves  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Nothing  but  pure  love  gives  this  perfect  docility,  attended 
with  perfect  peace. 

ARTICLE   THIRTY-FIRST. 

It  does  not  follow,  that  those  who  possess  the  graces  of  a 
truly  sanctified  heart,  are  at  liberty  to  reject  the  ordinary 
methods  and  rules  of  perception  and  judgment.  They  exer- 
cise and  value  wisdom,  while  they  reject  the  selfishness  of 
wisdom.  The  rules  of  holy  living  would  require  them  every 
moment  to  make  a  faithful  use  of  all  the  natural  light  of 
reason,  as  well  as  the  higher  and  spiritual  light  of  grace,  to 
guide  them  in  accordance  with  the  requisitions  of  the  written 
law  and  of  natural  duty. 

A  holy  soul  values  and  seeks  wisdom,  but  does  not  seek  it 
in  an  unholy  and  worldly  spirit.  Nor,  when  it  is  made  wise 
by  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  wrho  dwells  in  all  hearts  that  are 
wholly  devoted  to  God,  does  it  turn  back  from  the  giver  to 
the  gift,  and  rejoice  in  its  wisdom  as  its  own.  Such  a  soul 
is  wise  in  God  without  thinking  of  any  wisdom  in  itself. 

The  wisdom  of  the  truly  holy  soul  is  a  wisdom  which  esti- 
mates things  in  the  present  moment.  It  judges  of  duty  from 
the  facts  which  now  are  ;  including,  however,  those  things 
which  have  a  relation  to  the  present.  It  is  an  important 
remark,  that  the  present  moment  necessarily  possesses  a 
moral  extension  ;  so  that,  in  judging  of  the  present  moment, 
we  are  to  include  all  those  things  which  have  a  natural  and 
near  relation  to  the  thing  which  is  actually  in  hand.     It  is 

vol.  11.  21 


242  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

in  this  manner  that  the  holy  soul  lives  in  the  present,  com- 
mitting the  past  to  God,  and  leaving  the  future  with  that 
approaching  hour  which  shall  convert  it  into  the  present. 
"  Sufficient  to  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof."  To-morrow  will 
take  care  of  itself ;  it  will  bring  at  its  coming  what  it  cannot 
bring  before,  its  appropriate  grace  and  light.  When  we  live 
thus,  God  will  not  fail  to  give  us  our  daily  bread. 

It  is  such  souls  as  these  that  draw  upon  themselves  the 
special  protection  of  Providence,  under  whose  care  they  live, 
without  a  far  extended  and  unquiet  forecast,  like  little  chil- 
dren resting  in  the  bosom  of  their  mother.  They  are  not 
their  own  keepers  like  those  who  have  a  high  sense  of  their 
own  wisdom,  but  permit  themselves  to  be  kept,  to  be  in- 
structed and  moved,  upon  every  occasion,  by  the  actual  grace 
of  God.  Conscious  of  their  own  limited  views,  and  keeping 
in  mind  the  direction  of  the  Saviour,  Judge  not  that  ye  be 
not  judged,  they  are  slow  to  pass  judgment  upon  others 
They  are  willing  to  receive  reproof  and  correction ;  and, 
separate  from  the  will  of  God,  they  have  no  choice  or  will 
of  their  own  in  any  thing. 

These  are  the  children  whom  Christ  permits  to  come  near 
him.  They  combine  the  prudence  of  the  serpent  with  the 
simplicity  of  the  dove.  But  they  do  not  appropriate  their 
prudence  to  themselves  as  their  own  prudence,  any  more 
than  they  appropriate  to  themselves  the  beams  of  the  natu- 
ral sun,  when  they  walk  in  its  light. 

These  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  whom  Christ  Jesus  hath  de- 
clared blessed ;  and  who  are  as  much  taken  off  from  any 
complacency  in  what  others  might  call  their  merits,  as  all 
Christians  ought  to  be  from  their  temporal  possessions. 
They  are  the  "  little  ones,"  to  whom  God  is  well  pleased  to 
reveal  his  mysteries,  while  he  hides  them  from  the  wise  and 
prudent. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  243 

ARTICLE  THIRTY-SECOND. 

Those  who  are  the  children  of  God  in  distinction  from  the 
mere  servants  of  God,  have  the  liberty  of  children.  These 
simple  and  childlike  souls,  sustained  by  the  strong  faith  ap- 
propriate to  children,  are  no  longer  troubled  with  hopes  un- 
fulfilled, and  with  fears  of  disappointment.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  perfect  faith,  which  is  the  parent  of  perfect  love,  they 
are  allowed  a  familiarity  with  God,  not  deficient  however  in 
reverence,  like  that  of  a  child  with  a  parent,  like  that  of  a 
bride  with  a  bridegroom.  They  have  a  peace  and  joy,  which 
are  full  of  innocency.  Conscious  that  they  do  not  wish  to 
minister  inordinately  to  pleasures  either  inward  or  outward, 
they  take  with  simplicity  and  without  hesitation  the  refresh- 
ments both  of  mind  and  body.  They  do  not  speak  of  them- 
selves, except  when  called  to  do  it  in  providence,  and  in 
order  to  do  good.  And  such  is  their  simplicity  and  truth  of 
spirit,  they  speak  of  things  just  as  they  appear  to  them  at 
the  moment ;  and  when  the  conversation  turns  upon  their 
own  works  or  characters,  they  express  themselves  favorably 
or  unfavorably,  much  as  they  would  if  they  were  speaking 
of  others.  If,  however,  they  have  occasion  to  speak  of  any 
good  of  which  they  have  been  the  instrument,  they  always 
acknowledge,  with  humble  joy,  that  it  comes  from  God  alone. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  there  is  a  liberty,  which 
might  more  properly  be  called  license.  There  are  persons 
who  maintain,  that  purity  of  heart  renders  pure  in  those 
who  are  the  subjects  of  this  purity,  whatever  they  are 
prompted  to  do,  however  irregular  it  may  be  in  others,  and 
however  inexcusable.     This  is  a  great  error. 

[Such  persons  forget  that  it  does  not  by  any  means  follow, 
because  they  have  right  dispositions  to  do  a  thing,  that  they 
have  the  proper  authority  to  do  it.  Angels  do  whatever 
they  are  required  and  permitted  to  do,  in  perfect  purity  and 
love ;  but  they  never  claim,  on  the  ground  of  purity  and 


246  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

God,  all  its  power  of  movement  proceeds.  In  itself  it  re- 
mains without  preference  for  any  thing ;  and  consequently 
is  accessible  and  pliant  to  all  the  touches  and  guidances  of 
grace,  however  slight  they  may  be.  It  is  like  a  spherical 
body,  placed  upon  a  level  and  even  surface,  which  is  moved 
with  equal  ease  in  any  direction.  The  soul  in  this  state, 
having  no  preferences  of  itself,  has  but  one  principle  of 
movement,  namely,  that  which  God  gives  it.  In  this  state 
the  soul  can  say  with  the  apostle  Paul,  "  Hive  ;  yet  it  is  not 
I;  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  persons  who  have  ex- 
perienced this  spiritual  blessedness,  should  use  the  term 
transformation,  to  express  it.  The  image  of  God,  which 
had  been  darkened  and  almost  blotted  out  by  sin,  is  restored 
again,  and  shines  with  a  new  and  divine  impress.  St.  Cath- 
arine of  Genoa,  in  speaking  of  herself,  says,  in  expressions 
that  are  strong,  but  which,  nevertheless,  have  a  true  mean- 
ing, "  I  find  no  more  of  myself;  there  is  no  other  self  in  me 
but  God." 

This  state,  exalted  as  it  is,  is  not  absolutely  fixed  and  in- 
variable. 

ARTICLE   THIRTY-SIXTH. 

Those  souls  which  have  experienced  the  grace  of  sanctifi- 
cation  in  its  higher  degrees,  have  not  so  much  need  of  set 
times  and  places  for  worship  as  others.  Such  is  the  purity 
and  the  strength  of  their  love,  that  it  is  very  easy  for  them 
to  unite  with  God  in  acts  of  inward  worship,  at  all  times  and 
in  all  places.  They  have  an  interior  closet.  The  soul  is 
their  temple,  and  God  dwells  in  it. 

This,  however,  does  not  exempt  them  from  those  outward 
methods  and  observances,  which  God  has  prescribed.  The 
law  of  love  requires  them  to  do  whatever  is  in  accordance 
with  God's  will.  And  besides,  they  owe  something  to  others 
as  well  as  themselves ;  and  a  disregard  to  the  ordinances 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  247 

and  ministrations  of  the  church  could  not  fail  to  be  injurious 
to  those  who  are  beginners  in  the  religious  life. 

ARTICLE   THIRTY-SEVENTH. 

The  practice  of  confession  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
state  of  pure  love.  The  truly  renovated  soul  can  still  say, 
Forgive  us  our  trespasses.  If  it  does  not  sin  now,  deliber- 
ately and  knowingly,  still  its  former  state  of  sin  can  never 
be  forgotten.  [In  the  highest  state  of  inward  experience, 
it  would  not  be  proper  for  any  one  to  assert  with  abso- 
lute certainty,  that  he  is  free  from  all  deviation  from  God 
whatever.  Our  limited  and  imperfect  knowledge  does  not 
admit  of  this.  Still  it  must  be  admitted,  I  suppose,  that 
confession  is  more  suitable  to  some  states  of  inward  experi- 
ence than  others ;  and  that  those  who  are  entirely  devoted 
to  God,  have  les3  to  confess  than  some  others.] 

ARTICLE  THIRTY-EIGHTH. 

In  the  transformed  state  or  state  of  pure  love,  there  should 
be  not  only  the  confession  of  sins,  properly  so  called,  but 
also  the  confession  of  those  more  venial  transgressions,  which 
are  termed  faults  ;  [such  as  imperfections  of  manner,  errors 
of  judgment,  an  unintentional  wrong  word,  and  the  like, 
which  involve  in  their  results  more  or  less  of  evil.  All  such 
things,  it  is  obvious,  have  a  connection  with  our  fallen  state ; 
and  in  consequence  of  this  connection,  if  there  were  no  other 
reason,  would  render  it  proper  to  look  to  the  cross  of  Christ, 
and  to  pray  for  forgiveness.]  We  should  sincerely  disap- 
prove such  faults  in  our  confession ;  should  condemn  them 
and  desire  their  remission ;  and  not  merely  with  a  view  to 
our  own  cleansing  and  deliverance,  but  also  because  God 
wills  it,  and  because  he  would  have  us  to  do  it  for  his  glory. 
"  The  holy  <soul,"  says  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "  does  not  wash 
heifoJf  from  her  faults  merely  for  the  sake  of  being  pure,  but 


248  nln:  and  religious  experience 


because  she  knows,  that  purity  and  beauty  are  the  delight 
of  her  spouse." 

Souls  in  the  state  of  pure  love,  have  only  to  look,  believe, 
and  be  forgiven.  If  the  faults  of  those  in  the  imperfect  or 
mixed  state  are  blotted  out  in  an  instant  by  the  simple  re- 
citing of  the  Lord's  prayer,  as  St.  Augustine  assures  us,  we 
cannot  well  suppose,  that  the  atoning  blood  will  be  applied 
less  quickly  to  those  who  are  in  a  higher  state  of  faith  and 
love.  And  having  thus,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  had  their 
faults  and  sins  blotted  out,  as  it  were,  in  a  moment,  they 
should  leave  them,  and  pass  on.  [This  statement  implies, 
what  has  been  intimated  in  other  places,  that  the  highest 
religious  state  is  not  an  invariable  one ;  but  that  souls,  which 
may  well  be  characterized  as  holy,  may  yet  fall  into  sin.] 

ARTICLE   THIRTY-NINTH. 

It  is  sometimes  the  case,  that  persons  misjudge  of  the 
holiness  of  individuals,  by  estimating  it  from  the  incidents  of 
the  outward  appearance.  Holiness  is  consistent  with  the 
existence,  in  the  same  person,  of  various  infirmities ;  [such 
as  an  unprepossessing  form,  physical  weakness,  a  debilitated 
judgment,  an  imperfect  mode  of  expression,  defective  man- 
ners, a  want  of  knowledge  and  the  like.]  "  These,"  as  Pope 
St.  Gregory  says,  "  are  a  counterpoise  to  the  great  inward 
grace  which  is  given  them  ;  the  thorns  of  the  flesh,  of  which 
the  apostle  speaks." 

These  infirmities,  which  it  is  obvious  may  sometimes  ex- 
ist with  great  grace  in  the  heart,  serve  to  depress  the  holy 
soul  in  its  own  eyes,  and  to  keep  it  humble.  They  serve 
also  to  throw  a  veil,  as  it  were,  over  the  greatness  of  the 
grace  which  God  has  imparted  to  such  an  one,  in  order,  for 
wise  purposes  in  God's  providence,  to  try  the  faith  of  be- 
holders, and  also  to  try  and  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  person 
himself. 


OP  MADAME  GUYON.  249 

ARTICLE  FORTIETH. 

The  transformed  or  holy  soul  may  be  said  to  be  united 
with  God  without  any  thing  intervening  or  producing  a 
separation  in  three  particulars. 

First.  It  is  thus  united  intellectually ;  —  that  is  to  say, 
not  by  any  idea  which  is  based  upon  the  senses,  and  which 
of  course  could  give  only  a  material  image  of  God,  but  by 
an  idea  which  is  internal  and  spiritual  in  its  origin,  and 
which  makes  God  known  to  us  as  a  being  without  form. 

Second.  The  soul  is  thus  united  to  God,  if  we  may  so 
express  it,  affectionally.  That  is  to  say,  when  its  affections 
are  given  to  God,  not  indirectly  through  the  medium  of  a  self- 
interested  motive,  but  are  given  to  him  simply  because  he  is 
what  he  is.  That  is  to  say,  the  soul  is  united  to  God  in 
love  without  any  thing  intervening,  when  it  loves  him  for 
his  own  sake. 

Third.  The  soul  is  thus  united  to  God  practically  ;  — 
and  this  is  the  case  when  it  does  the  will  of  God,  not  by 
simply  following  a  prescribed  form,  and  in  accordance  with 
forms,  but  from  the  constantly  operative  impulse  of  holy  love. 

ARTICLE   FORTY-FIRST. 

We  find  in  some  devout  writers  on  inward  experience,  the 
phrase  spiritual  nuptials.  It  is  a  favorite  method  with 
some  of  these  writers,  to  represent  the  union  of  the  soul  with 
God  by  the  figure  of  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom.  Similar 
expressions  are  found  in  the  Scriptures. 

"We  are  not  to  suppose  that  such  expressions  mean  any 
thing  more,  in  reality,  than  that  intimate  union  which  exists 
between  God  and  the  soul,  when  the  soul  is  in  the  state  of 
pure  love.  Such  love  always  carries  with  it  the  will  as  well 
as  the  heart ;  so  that  it  is  a  love  which  is  complete.  God 
and  the  soul,  in  the  nearness  of  that  moral  union  which  origi- 
nates in  pur 3  love,  constitute  but  one  and  the  same  spirit4 


250  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

as  the  bride  and   bridegroom   in  marriage   are  made  but 
one. 

ARTICLE   FORTY-SECOND. 

We  find  again  in  other  devout  writers  other  forms  of  ex- 
pression, which  it  is  proper  to  notice.  The  union  between 
God  and  the  soul  is  sometimes  described  by  them  as  an 
"  essential "  union,  and  sometimes  as  a  "  substantial "  union, 
as  if  there  were  an  union  of  essence,  substance,  or  being, 
in  the  literal  or  physical  sense.  This  is  not  the  mean- 
ing of  these  writers.  They  mean  to  express  nothing  more 
than  the  fact  of  the  union  of  pure  love,  with  the  addi- 
tional idea  that  the.  union  is  essential  and  substantial,  in  the 
sense  of  being  firm  and  established;  not  subject  to  those 
breaks  and  inequalities,  to  that  want  of  continuity  and  uni- 
formity of  love,  which  characterize  inferior  degrees  of  expe- 
rience. 

ARTICLE   FORTY-THIRD. 

It  is  the  transformed  or  holy  soul  of  which  St.  Paul  may 
be  understood  especially  to  speak,  where  he  says,  "As  many 
as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God." 
Rom.  viii.  14.  The  holy  soul  is  a  soul  that  is  led  of  the 
Spirit  of  God ;  because,  being  in  the  way  of  pure  faith,  it 
believes,  and  is  therefore  docile.  When  its  faith  is  not  sim- 
ple and  entire,  the  soul  is  naturally  restless  and  rebellious ; 
and  consequently  is  not  in  a  situation  to  be  guided  or  led  by 
any  thing  out  of  itself. 

Those  who  are  in  the  state  of  simple  faith,  which  can 
always  be  said  of  those  who  are  in  the  state  of  pure  love, 
are  the  "  little  ones  "  of  the  Scriptures,  of  whom  we  are  told 
that  God  teaches  them.  "  I  thank  thee,"  says  the  Saviour, 
"  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed 
them  unto  babes."  Luke  x.  21.  Such  souls,  taught  as  they 
are  by  the  Spirit  of  God  which  dwelleth  in  them,  possess  a 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  251 

knowledge  which  the  wisdom  of  the  world  could  never  im- 
part. But  such  knowledge  never  renders  them  otherwise 
than  respectful  to  religious  teachers,  docile  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  church,  and  conformable  in  all  things  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  Scriptures. 

ARTICLE  FORTY-FOURTH. 

The  doctrine  of  pure  love,  involving  as  it  does  the  entire 
transformation  of  our  nature  and  the  state  of  divine  union, 
has  been  known  and  recognized  as  a  true  doctrine  among 
the  truly  contemplative  and  devout  in  all  ages  of  the  church. 
The  doctrine,  however,  has  been  so  far  above  the  common 
experience,  that  the  pastors  and  saints  of  all  ages  have  ex- 
ercised a  degree  of  discretion  and  care  in  making  it  known, 
except  to  those  to  whom  God  had  already  given  both  the 
attraction  and  light  to  receive  it.  Acting  on  the  principle 
of  giving  milk  to  infants  and  strong  meat  to  those  that  were 
more  advanced,  they  addressed  in  the  great  body  of  Chris- 
tians the  motives  of  fear  and  of  hope,  founded  on  the  consid- 
eration of  happiness  or  of  misery.  It  seemed  to  them,  that 
the  motive  of  God's  glory,  in  itself  considered,  a  motive 
which  requires  us  to  love  God  for  himself  alone  without  a 
distinct  regard  and  reference  to  our  own  happiness,  could  be 
profitably  addressed,  as  a  general  rule,  only  to  those  wTho  are 
somewhat  advanced  in  inward  experience. 

ARTICLE   FORTY-FIFTH. 

Among  the  various  forms  of  expression,  indicative  of  the 
highest  experience,  we  sometimes  find  that  of  "  divine  union," 
or  the  synonymous  expression,  "  union  with  God."  The  ex- 
pressions are  proper,  because  they  indicate  such  experience 
as  existing  in  particular  relations. 

Union  with  God,  which  is  not  a  physical  but  moral  or  re- 
ligious union,  necessarily  exists  in  souls  that  are  in  the  state 


252  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

of  pure  love.  In  other  words,  the  state  of  "  divine  union '' 
is  not  a  higher  state  than  that  of  pure  love  ;  but  may  rather 
be  described  as  the  same  state,  developing  itself  in  a  particu- 
lar way  or  in  a  particular  relation. 

To  this  state,  whether  we  call  it  "  transformation,"  or 
"  pure  love,"  or  the  "  divine  union,"  or  by  whatever  other 
name,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  Christians  to  make  efforts  to  arrive. 
This  is  that  blessed  state,  which  refers  all  to  God,  and  leaves 
nothing  to  the  creature. 

Strive  after  it ;  but  do  not  too  readily  or  easily  believe 
that  you  have  attained  to  it.  The  traveller,  after-  many 
fatigues  and  dangers,  arrives  at  the  top  of  a  mountain.  As 
he  looks  abroad  from  that  high  eminence,  and  in  that  clear 
atmosphere,  he  sees  his  native  city  ;  and  it  seems  to  him  to 
be  very  near.  Overjoyed  at  the  sight,  and  perhaps  deceived 
by  his  position,  he  proclaims  himself  as  already  at  the  end 
of  his  journey.  But  he  soon  finds,  that  the  distance  was 
greater  than  he  supposed.  He  is  obliged  to  descend  into 
valleys,  and  to  climb  over  hills,  and  to  surmount  rugged 
rocks,  and  to  wind  his  tired  steps  over  many  a  mile  of  weary 
way,  before  he  reaches  that  home  and  city,  which  lie  once 
thought  so  near. 

It  is  thus  in  relation  to  the  sanctification  of  the  heart.  A 
soul  free  from  selfishness,  true  holiness  of  heart,  is  the  object 
at  which  the  Christian  aims.  He  beholds  it  before  him,  as 
an  object  of  transcendent  beauty,  and  as  perhaps  near  at 
hand.  But,  as  he  advances  towards  it,  he  finds  the  way 
longer  and  more  difficult  than  he  had  imagined.  But  if  on 
the  one  hand  we  should  be  careful  not  to  mistake  an  inter- 
mediate stopping  place  for  the  end  of  the  way,  we  should  be 
equally  careful  on  the  other  not  to  be  discouraged  by  the 
difficulties  we  meet  with ;  remembering  that  the  obligation  to 
be  holy  is  always  binding  upon  us,  and  that  God  will  help 
those  who  put  their  trust  in  him. 


OF   MADAME    GUTON.  253 

"  Whatsoever  is  born  of  God,  overcometh  the  world;  and 
this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith."  2d  John  v.  4. 


Such  is  the  substance,  in  an  abridged  form,  of  the  cele- 
brated work  of  Fenelon,  entitled,  The  Maxims  of  the  Saints 
on  the  Inward  Life.  It  might  have  been  entitled,  perhaps 
with  equal  or  greater  precision,  Maxims  or  Principles  on  the 
Subject  of  present  Sanctification.  In  giving  the  preceding 
view  of  it,  in  the  form  rather  of  a  paraphrase  than  of  a 
literal  translation,  I  have  omitted  a  number  of  passages 
which  were  exclusively  Catholic  in  their  aspect,  as  being  of 
less  interest  and  value  to  the  Protestant  reader  than  other 
parts.  Keeping  in  mind  the  character  of  those  who  will  be 
likely  to  read  this  work,  I  have  adopted  also,  in  rendering 
particular  terms  and  phrases,  those  modes  of  expression, 
corresponding  in  idea  with  the  original,  but  not  precisely  in 
form,  which  are  commonly  employed  by  Protestant  writers 
on  the  higher  inward  experience.  So  that  the  reader  will 
find  exhibited,  in  the  foregoing  abstract,  the  substance  of  the 
work  in  the  Protestant  aspect ;  —  in  the  hope,  independently 
of  its  controversial  relations,  that  it  will  furnish  food  for 
reflection,  and  give  encouragement  to  religious  effort.  It 
was  first  published  in  January,  1697. 


vol.  ii.  22 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

1697.  Reference  to  the  appointment  of  Fenelon  as  archbishop  of 
Cambray.  Importance  attached  to  his  opinions  and  influence. 
Opinions  of  some  distinguished  men  on  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints. 
Decided  course  of  Bossuet.  Feelings  of  Louis  Fourteenth  towards 
Fenelon.  Characters  of  Bossuet  and  Fenelon  as  compared  with 
each  other.  The  true  question  in  controversy  between  them. 
Notices  of  some  of  the  more  important  publications  of  Bossuet. 
Remarks  on  the  work  entitled  A  History  of  Quietism.  Corre- 
spondence with  the  Abbe  de  Ranee. 

In  the  contest  which  was  arising  in  other  quarters,  Ma- 
dame Guyon,  who  was  still  a  prisoner  in  the  castle  of  Vin- 
cennes,  was  comparatively  forgotten.  The  publication  of 
the  Maxims  of  the  Saints,  which  showed  how  effectual  her 
labors  had  been  before  they  were  terminated  by  her  impris- 
onment, at  once  turned  all  thoughts  and  eyes  to  Fenelon. 

The  theological  and  controversial  position  of  Fenelon  had 
become  the  more  important,  and  attracted  the  more  atten- 
tion, in  consequence  of  his  eminent  ecclesiastical  rank.  Such 
had  been  his  success  as  a  missionary  in  Poitou,  so  conscien- 
tious and  faithful  had  been  his  labors  as  preceptor  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  and  of  the  other  grandchildren  of  the 
king,  that  he  had  been  appointed,  a  little  more  than  a  year 
previous  to  this  time,  archbishop  of  Cambray  ;  with  the  un- 
derstanding, so  important  were  his  services  considered,  that 
he  should  continue  to  spend  at  least  three  months  of  the 
year  at  Versailles,  in  the  instruction  of  the  young  princes. 
It  is  easy  to  see  how  much  the  interest  in  his  opinions  and 


LIFE,  ETC.  255 

movements  must  have  been  increased  under  such  circum* 
stances. 

2.  Fenelon  had  not  used  the  name  of  Madame  Guyon  ; 
but  his  work  so  clearly  recognized  the  doctrine  of  Pure 
Love,  which  13  only  another  denomination,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
for  the  doctrine  of  Perfect  Love,  and  pointed  out  so  fully 
some  of  its  leading  principles,  that  he  was  naturally  regarded 
as  her  expounder  and  defender.  The  doctrines  she  advoca- 
ted had  given  great  offence  ;  and  the  public  feeling,  height- 
ened by  the  instrumentality  of  prominent  ecclesiastics,  could 
not  be  satisfied  with  permitting  her  to  remain  at  large.  If 
the  views  of  Madame  Guyon  were  heretical  and  her  personal 
efforts  dangerous,  the  heresy  was  not  diminished,  and  the 
danger  was  not  less,  under  the  present  auspices.  Was  it 
right  and  manly  on  the  part  of  the  principal  agents  in  these 
transactions,  that  Madame  Guyon  should  be  condemned,  and 
that  the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  who  had  added  the  author- 
ity of  his  great  learning  and  influence  to  her  opinions,  should 
be  approved  ?  —  that  one  should  be  imprisoned,  and  that  the 
other  should  escape  without  notice  ?  These  were  questions 
which  naturally  arose  at  the  present  time. 

3.  The  position  of  Fenelon,  which,  previously  to  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints,  might  have  been  doubt- 
ful in  the  view  of  some,  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty. On  the  great  question  which  he  had  the  sagacity  to 
foresee  must  sooner  or  later  occupy  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings of  the  Christian  world,  the  question  of  the  fact  and  of 
the  mode  of  present  sanctification,  he  had  spoken  in  a  man- 
ner too  clear  to  be  mistaken.  And  those  who  understood 
his  character  knew  that  he  was  too  conscientious  either  to 
abandon  his  position,  or  to  be  unfaithful  in  defending  it, 
without  a  change  in  his  convictions.  Naturally  mild  and 
forbearing  in  his  dispositions,  he  was  inflexible  in  his  prin- 
ciples.    Incapable  of  being  influenced  by  flatteries  on  the 


256  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

one  hand,  or  by  threats  on  the  other,  he  asserted  only  what 
he  believed ;  and  he  felt  himself  morally  bound  to  defend 
the  ground  he  had  taken,  although  he  had  no  disposition  to 
do  it  otherwise  than  in  the  spirit  of  humility  and  candor.  It 
became  necessary,  therefore,  on  the  part  of  his  opponents, 
either  to  concede  that  he  was  right,  or  to  show  that  he  was 
wrong ;  either  to  admit  that  the  alleged  heresy  was  not  a 
heresy,  or  to  include  a  name  so  distinguished  in  the  category 
of  those  who  had  deviated  from  the  strictness  of  the  Catholic 
faith. 

4.  Some  of  the  leading  men  in  France,  De  Noailles, 
Pirot  a  theologian  of  great  eminence,  Tronson  the  Superior 
of  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpitius,  and  some  others,  gave  an 
early  attention  to  the  book  of  Fenelon,  and  examined  it  with 
care.  The  spirit  of  piety  which  pervaded  it  was  so  pleasing 
to  some  of  them  that  they  seemed  unwilling  to  condemn  it. 
Monsieur  de  Noailles  in  particular,  recently  archbishop  of 
Paris  and  now  a  cardinal,  and  Godet-Marais,  bishop  of 
Chartres,  men  whose  opinions  could  not  fail  to  have  great 
weight,  saw  so  much  of  truth  and  merit  in  the  work,  that 
they  were  disposed  to  let  it  pass  in  silence.  But  it  was  not 
so  with  Bossuet,  whose  feelings  seem  to  have  become  some- 
what exasperated  towards  the  new  sect. 

"Take  your  own  measures,"  said  Bossuet  in  answer  to 
these  distinguished  men.  "  I  will  raise  my  voice  to  the 
heavens  against  those  errors  so  well  known  to  you.  I  will 
complain  to  Rome,  to  the  whole  earth.  It  shall  not  be  said 
that  the  cause  of  God  is  weakly  betrayed.  Though  I  should 
stand  single  in  it,  I  will  advocate  it." 

5.  The  courage  of  Bossuet  had  a  support  which  was 
better  known  to  himself  than  to  others.  He  knew  that,  in 
attacking  the  doctrines  of  Fenelon,  he  should  be  found  a 
defender  of  the  opinions  of  the  throne.  It  would  be  unjust 
to  the  memory  of  so  distinguished  a  man  to  intimate,  that  he 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  25? 

was  not  sincere  in  the  course  which  he  took.  But  I  think  it 
not  inconsistent  with  charity  to  say,  that  he  probably  would 
have  been  less  precipitate  in  his  measures  and  less  violent 
in  his  denunciations,  if  he  had  not  known  the  opinions  and 
the  strong  feelings  of  the  king. 

6.  If  Louis  the  Fourteenth  had  no  love  for  Madame 
Guyon,  he  had  as  little,  and  perhaps  less,  for  Fenelon.  Their 
minds  were  differently  constituted.  There  was  no  common 
bond  of  sympathy.  It  is  true,  that  in  obedience  to  public 
sentiment,  and  in  accordance  undoubtedly  with  his  own  con- 
victions of  duty,  he  had  nominated  Fenelon  to  the  archbish- 
opric of  Cambray ;  but  his  want  of  personal  interest  in  him 
was  so  distinctly  marked  as  to  be  noticed  and  mentioned 
both  by  the  Duke  of  St.  Simon  and  the  Chancellor  d'Agues- 
seau.  There  was  something  peculiarly  commanding  in  the 
personal  appearance  of  Fenelon.  His  mind,  possessing  that 
moral  simplicity  and  strength  which  he  inculcated  in  his 
writings,  left  its  impress  of  calm  and  dignified  serenity  in  his 
countenance,  and  gave  a  character  to  his  manners.  Vice 
withdrew  from  him  ;  and  hypocrisy  stood  abashed  in  his 
presence.  It  is  perhaps  in  allusion  to  this  that  these  writers 
make  the  observation,  that  Fenelon,  while  he  possessed  a 
great  superiority  of  genius,  exhibited  also  an  elevation  of 
moral  and  personal  character,  of  which  the  king  of  France 
stood  in  awe ;  so  that,  while  Louis  could  appreciate  the 
merits  of  Fenelon  in  general,  and  had  raised  him  to  one  of 
the  highest  places  in  the  French  church,  he  had  no  personal 
attachment  to  him. 

7.  Bossuet,  aroused  once  more  to  a  sense  of  his  position 
as  the  guardian  of  the  church,  and  anxious  to  defend  its 
orthodoxy  against  the  alleged  heresy  of  Christian  Perfec- 
tion, which  was  insinuating  itself  in  the  community  under  the 
name  of  pure  love,  and  strong  also  in  the  favor  and  en- 
couragements of  the  king,  no  longer  concealed  his  intentions* 

vol.  ii.  22  * 


258  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Fenelon,  on  the  other  hand,  although  he  foresaw  what  it  would 
cost  him,  was  equally  ready  to  defend  a  doctrine  which  he 
not  only  believed  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures,  but 
to  be  sanctioned  by  the  opinions  of  many  authorized  writers. 
The  distinguished  character  of  the  combatants  gave  increased 
interest  to  the  controversy.  Men  looked  on  with  a  sort 
of  awe,  as  they  beheld  this  conflict  of  the  two  great  minds 
of  France.  "  Then,"  says  the  Chancellor  d'Aguesseau,  "  were 
seen  to  enter  the  lists  two  combatants,  rather  equal  than  alike ; 
one  of  them  of  consummate  skill,  covered  with  the  laurels 
he  had  gained  in  his  combats  for  the  church,  an  indefatigable 
warrior.  His  age  and  repeated  victories  might  have  dis- 
pensed him  from  further  service  ;  but  his  mind,  still  vigorous 
and  superior  to  the  weight  of  years,  preserved,  in  his  old 
age,  a  great  portion  of  the  fire  of  his  early  days.  The  other, 
m  the  strength  and  manhood  of  earlier  life,  was  not  as  yet 
much  known  by  his  writings  ;  but,  enjoying  the  highest  repu- 
tation for  his  eloquence  and  the  loftiness  of  his  genius,  he 
had  long  been  familiar  with  the  subject  that  came  under 
discussion.  A  perfect  master  of  its  facts  and  language,  there 
was  nothing  in  it  which  he  did  not  comprehend  ;  nothing  in 
it  which  he  could  not  explain  ;  and  every  thing  he  explained 
appeared  plausible." 

8.  Bossuet  had  the  experience  of  age  ;  Fenelon  had  the 
energy  of  manhood.  The  one  was  great  in  the  reputation 
he  enjoyed ;  the  other,  in  the  hopes  he  inspired.  Bossuet 
had  the  greater  powers  of  argument ;  Fenelon  possessed  the 
richer  imagination.  Both  were  masters  of  style,  but  in  dif- 
ferent ways :  the  one  spoke  and  wrote  with  the  confidence, 
and  something  of  the  dogmatism,  of  a  teacher ;  the  other,  in 
gentler  accents,  seems  to  converse  with  us  as  a  friend. 

They  were  different  in  their  dispositions,  as  well  as  in 
their  intellectual  structure.  Bossuet  was  naturally  a  man 
of  strong  passions,  which  had  been  strengthened  probably  by 


OF   MADAME    GUTON.  259 

the  controversies  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  and  by  that 
ascendency  over  other  minds,  which  it  had  become  the  habit 
to  concede  to  him.  Fenelon  was  naturally  mild  and  amia- 
ble, without  the  weakness  which  often  attaches  to  amiable 
dispositions ;  —  and  this  interesting  trait  had  been  strength- 
ened by  the  principles  he  had  inculcated,  and  by  his  personal 
piety.  Both  were  eminently  eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  as  well 
as  in  their  writings  ;  but  the  peculiarities  of  their  eloquence 
partook  of  the  peculiarities  of  their  characters.  The  one 
was  argumentative  and  vehement ;  stronger  in  the  thunders 
of  the  law  than  in  the  invitations  of  the  gospel ;  carrying 
the  intellects  and  hearts  of  his  hearers,  as  if  by  a  mighty 
force.  The  other,  rejecting  on  principle  those  arts  of  author- 
ity and  of  intellectual  compulsion,  which  he  felt  he  had  the 
power  to  apply,  won  all  hearts  by  the  sweet  accents  of  love. 

In  the  long  list  of  great  names  of  English  theology 
and  literature,  we  do  not  recollect  any  individuals,  who, 
standing  alone,  fully  represent  these  distinguished  men.  It 
might  aid,  however,  our  conceptions  of  them  to  some  extent, 
if  we  should  add,  in  connection  with  this  remark,  that  Bos- 
suet  can  hardly  fail  to  remind  one  of  the  expansive  and  phi- 
losophic mind  of  Burke,  combined  with  the  heavy  strength 
and  dictatorial  manner  of  Johnson.  Fenelon  had  a  large 
share  of  the  luxuriant  imagination  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  chas- 
tened by  the  refined  taste  and  classic  ease  of  Addison. 

I  suppose  we  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  both  were  Chris- 
tians ;  but  one,  allied  in  this  respect  to  the  great  majority  of 
believers,  stopped  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans,  pro- 
claiming with  great  sincerity,  "  When  I  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me"  The  other,  advancing  a  step  further, 
believed,  with  the  declarations  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
same  inspired  epistle,  that  there  "  is  now  no  condemnation 
to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the 
flesh,  hut  after  the  Spirit." 


260  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

9.  This  was  in  reality  the  great  question  between  them. 
Can  a  man  be  holy  in  this  life  or  not  ?  Can  he  love  God 
with  all  his  heart  or  not  ?  Can  he  "  walk  in  the  Spirit ; "  or 
must  he  be  more  or  less  immersed  in  the  flesh  ?  This  great 
question,  which  involves  in  its  solution  the  interests  and 
prospects  of  the  church  in  all  time  to  come,  is  not  a  new 
one.  Fenelon  very  correctly  said  on  a  certain  occasion, 
when  he  was  charged  by  Bossuet  with  introducing  a  new 
spirituality,  "  It  is  not  a  new  spirituality  which  I  defend,  but 
the  old.'"  There  probably  has  not  been  any  period  in  the 
history  of  the  church,  in  which  the  doctrine  of  present  sanc- 
tification  has  not  been  agitated ;  —  not  a  period,  in  which, 
while  the  great  mass  of  Christians  have  complained  of  the 
"  body  of  sin  "  which  they  have  carried  about  with  them, 
there  have  not  been  some,  (probably  more  than  is  generally 
supposed,)  who  have  been  deeply  conscious  of  the  constant 
presence  and  indwellings  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  their 
entire  union  with  God. 

10.  At  one  time  the  views  and  feelings  of  Bossuet  and 
Fenelon  on  this  subject  approximated  each  other.  To  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  work  of  Bossuet,  entitled,  Instruc- 
tions on  Prayer,  Fenelon  would  have  cheerfully  assented. 
It  is  well  known  also,  that,  in  repeated  instances,  Bossuet 
spoke  favorably  of  the  doctrines  of  Madame  Guyon,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  peculiarities  of  expression.  It  is 
certainly  an  easy  thing  for  a  Catholic,  who  has  the  requisite 
information,  to  make  out  a  strong  historical  argument  in 
favor  of  the  doctrine  of  present  sanctification  as  a  doctrine 
of  his  own  church,  known  under  the  name,  and  realized  in 
the  form,  of  pure  love.  But  new  influences  had  arisen ; 
strongly  marked  parties  had  made  their  appearance ;  new 
causes  of  distrust  and  alienation  had  presented  themselves  ; 
and  what  at  first  seemed  a  harmless  exaggeration  of  the 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  261 

authorized  doctrines  of  the  church,  at  last  assumed  the  form 
of  an  odious  heresy. 

11.  It  is  not  our  intention,  because  it  is  not  in  our  power 
in  the  limits  which  are  prescribed  to  us,  to  give  an  analysis 
of  the  numerous  publications  which  originated  in  this  con- 
troversy. They  occupy  more  than  two  quarto  volumes  of 
the  writings  of  these  distinguished  men. 

The  advocates  of  Fenelon  and  of  Madame  Guyon  main- 
tained, that  the  doctrines  found  in  their  writings  were  sup- 
ported by  a  continuous  succession  of  testimonies  from  the 
time  of  the  apostles  down  to  that  period.  "We  have  already 
seen,  that  Madame  Guyon  herself,  on  the  occasion  of  her 
examination  before  the  three  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  king,  had  attempted  to  show  this,  in  the  manuscript 
work  which  was  afterwards  published  under  the  name  of 
Justifications.  Another  able  work,  anonymously  published 
at  this  time,  appeared  with  this  object. 

In  answer  to  these  views,  Bossuet  published  his  work, 
entitled,  The  Traditionary  History  of  the  New  Mystics.* 
This  treatise,  falling  short  of  the  import  of  its  title,  does  not 
enter  into  the  subject  in  its  full  extent;  being  occupied 
chiefly  with  an  examination  of  the  opinions  of  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  and  of  passages  which  are  found  in  the  works  that 
are  circulated  under  the  name  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite. 
It  is  an  interesting  specimen  of  theological  and  literary 
criticism,  conducted  with  great  ingenuity,  but  with  doubtful 
success.  It  would  be  difficult  to  show,  that  Dionysius  at 
least  did  not  go  as  far  on  the  subject  of  inward  experience 
as  any  writers  of  the  new  sect. 

12.  Another  work  from  the  same  pen  soon  appeared, 
entitled,  A  Memoir  of  the  Bishop  of  Meaux,  addressed  to 
the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  on  the  Maxims  of  the  Saints. 

*  Tradition  des  Nouveaux  Mystiques. 


262  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Five  distinct  papers  or  articles  appeared,  at  different  times, 
under  this  title.     The  first  is  dated  July  15th,  1697. 

The  doctrine  of  Fenelon  may  be  reduced  to  three  leading 
propositions.  First,  The  provisions  of  the  gospel  are  such, 
that  men  may  gain  the  entire  victory  over  their  sinful  pro- 
pensities, and  may  live  in  constant  and  accepted  communion 
with  God.  Second,  Persons  are  in  this  state,  when  they 
love  God  with  all  their  heart ;  in  other  words,  with  pure  or 
unselfish  love.  Third,  There  have  been  instances  of  Chris- 
tians, though  probably  few  in  number,  who,  so  far  as  can 
be  decided  by  man's  imperfect  judgment,  have  reached  this 
state  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  all,  encouraged  by  the  ample 
provision  which  is  made,  to  strive  to  attain  to  it. 

It  is  obvious,  I  think,  that  Bossuet  felt  considerable  re- 
luctance in  attacking  this  doctrine  in  its  general  form.  He 
felt  much  safer  in  directing  his  objections  against  the  devel- 
opment of  it  in  particulars.  Accordingly,  in  the  third  sec- 
tion of  the  first  Memoir,  he  selects  forty-eight  propositions, 
or  more  truly  and  properly  forty-eight  sentences  and  parts 
of  sentences,  to  which  he  makes  objections  more  or  less 
specific  and  important.  Some  of  these  objections  are  strong- 
ly put  undoubtedly ;  —  others  appear  to  be  founded  upon  a 
misconception  of  the  meaning  of  Fenelon  ;  —  and  others, 
again,  are  illustrations  of  those  mere  verbal  criticisms,  to 
which  almost  every  literary  and  theological  performance  is 
exposed  in  consequence  of  the  imperfection  of  language. 

13.  Another  work  of  Bossuet,  written  with  the  same 
general  object,  is  entitled,  An  Answer  to  four  Letters  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Cambray.  Fenelon  had  written  the  letters 
to  which  he  refers,  in  answer  to  the  memoir  of  the  bishop 
of  Meaux,  of  which  we  have  just  spoken.  The  letters 
of  Fenelon  and  the  answer  of  Bossuet  may  well  compare 
with  each  other  in  power  of  argument,  and  in  evidences  of 
learning.    They  are  not  written,  however,  in  the  same  spirit 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  263 

The  work  of  Fenelon  is  characterized  by  forbearance  and 
kindness.  It  is  evident  that  he  endeavored  to  carry  into 
the  controversy  the  principles  of  his  belief  and  heart.  The 
work  of  Bossuet  gives  painful  evidence,  that  his  increased 
interest  in  the  discussion  had  begun  to  be  embittered  by 
feelings  of  impatience  and  of  personal  alienation. 

14.  There  is  another  important  work  of  Bossuet,  entitled, 
A  Summary  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray, 
written  both  in  French  and  Latin.  To  this  work  Fenelon 
made  a  reply  which  attracted  much  attention.  Bossuet,  in 
allusion  to  this  reply,  made  the  following  remark  in  one  of 
his  subsequent  publications  :  —  His  friends  say  everywhere, 
that  his  reply  is  a  triumphant  work  ;  and  that  he  has  great 
advantages  in  it  over  me.  We  shall  see  hereafter  whether 
it  is  so." 

On  this  remark,  which  seemed  to  indicate  a  degree  of 
asperity  of  feeling,  Fenelon  commented  afterwards,  in  a 
letter  which  he  addressed  to  Bossuet,  in  the  following  terms  : 
—  "  May  Heaven  forbid,  that  I  should  strive  for  victory  over 
any  person ;  least  of  all,  over  you  !  It  is  not  man's  victory, 
but  God's  glory,  which  I  seek ;  and  happy,  thrice  happy,  shall 
I  be,  if  that  object  is  secured,  though  it  should  be  attended 
with  my  confusion  and  with  your  triumph.  There  is  no 
occasion,  therefore,  to  say,  We  shall  see  who  will  have  the 
advantage.  I  am  ready  now,  without  waiting  for  future  de- 
velopments, to  acknowledge  that  you  are  my  superior  in 
science,  in  genius,  in  every  thing  which  usually  commands 
attention.  And  in  respect  to  the  controversy  between  us, 
there  is  nothing  which  I  wish  more  than  to  be  vanquished 
by  y°u>  if  the  positions  which  I  take  are  wrong.  Two  things 
only  do  I  desire,  —  truth  and  peace  ;  —  truth  which  may 
enlighten,  and  peace  which  may  unite  us."  * 

*  Cinquieme  Lettre  en  reponse  a  Divers  Ecrits  sur  le  livre  intitule 
Explication  des  Maximes  des  Saints. 


264  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

15.  Among  the  other  publications  from  the  pen  of  Bos- 
suet,  which  appeared  in  this  remarkable  controversy,  were 
the  two  learned  treatises  in  Latin,  entitled,  Mystici  in  Tutof 
and  Schola  in  Tuto.  The  object  of  the  treatise  last  men- 
tioned is  to  show,  that  the  schoolmen,  as  they  are  called,  (a 
term  which  indicates,  as  it  is  employed  by  Bossuet,  those 
learned  men  in  the  Catholic  church  who  have  written  chiefly 
upon  its  speculative  doctrines,)  did  not  recognize  and  teach 
the  doctrine  of  pure  love  ;  at  least  not  in  the  sense  in 
which  Fenelon  understood  it.  In  this  opinion,  I  think  it 
may  be  conceded  that  Bossuet  is  generally  correct.  If, 
among  the  numerous  class  of  writers  that  come  under  that 
denomination,  there  are  a  few  who  propound  and  defend  the 
doctrine  of  pure  love,  the  number  is  certainly  small. 

The  object  of  the  other  work  is  to  show,  that  the  class  of 
writers  denominated  the  Mystics  also,  who  are  experimental 
rather  than  speculative  and  critical,  are  either  equally  ignor- 
ant of  it  or  are  equally  opposed  to  it.  Some  of  these  writers 
are  such  imperfect  masters  of  the  art  of  literary  composition, 
they  express  themselves  with  so  little  of  rhetorical  precision, 
that  it  would  be  an  easy  thing  for  an  ingenious  man,  who 
paid  more  attention  to  the  word  than  to  the  thought,  to 
perplex  them  by  the  aid  of  their  own  declarations,  and  to 
place  them  even  in  opposition  to  themselves,  out  of  their 
own  writings.  But,  as  a  general  statement,  nothing  can  be 
more  clear  than  that  these  writers  agree  in  this  doctrine.  It 
is  their  favorite  doctrine.  They  abound  in  expressions  and 
passages,  so  strong,  so  remarkable,  that  we  cannot  help  the 
conviction,  that  their  hearts,  as  well  as  their  heads,  speak. 
They  taught  perfect  love,  because  it  seemed  to  some  of  them 
at  least,  that  they  had  it. 

16.  But  we  wrll  not  undertake  to  go  through  with  this 
enumeration.  Take  it  all  in  all,  the  subject  of  discussion, 
the  men  who  were  engaged  in  it,  ils  multiplied  relations,  the 


OF    MADAME   GUYON.  265 

historical,  theological,  and  literary  ability  displayed  in  it,  it 
was  a  controversy  perhaps  not  exceeded  in  interest  by  any  of 
which  we  have  record.  Fenelon  was  not  idle.  He  showed 
himself  at  home  on  every  contested  proposition ;  and  not  more 
a  master  of  language,  than  he  was  of  every  form  of  legitimate 
argument. 

Bossuet,  surprised  at  the  strength  and  skill  of  his  antago- 
nist, and  exposed  to  defeat  after  fifty  years  of  victory,  made 
a  renewed  and  still  more  vigorous  effort.  He  denominated 
this  new  work,  which  is  as  much  narrative  in  its  character 
as  argumentative,  the  History  of  Quietism.  Of  this  work, 
Butler,  in  his  Life  of  Fenelon,*  speaks  in  the  following 
terms :  —  "In  composing  it,  Bossuet  availed  himself  of  some 
secret  and  confidential  writings  which  he  had  received  from 
Madame  Guyon,  also  of  private  letters  written  to  him  by 
Fenelon,  during  their  early  intimacy,  and  of  a  letter  which, 
under  the  seal  of  friendship,  Fenelon  had  written  to  Madame 
de  Maintenon,  and  which,  in.  this  trying  hour,  she  unfeeling- 
ly communicated  to  Bossuet.  The  substance  of  these  differ- 
ent pieces,  Bossuet  connected  together  with  great  art,  —  he 
interwove  in  them  the  mention  of  many  curious  facts,  gave 
an  entertaining  account  of  Madame  Guyon's  visions  and 
pretensions  to  inspiration,  [visions  and  pretensions  which,  on 
a  fair  and  candid  interpretation  of  her  Life,  are  satisfactorily 
explained,]  and  related  many  interesting  anecdotes  of  the 
conduct  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth  and  of  Madame  de  Main- 
tenon  during  the  controversy.  And  'this  was  not  all.  He 
so  dignified  his  narrative  from  time  to  time  with  bursts  of 
lofty  and  truly  episcopal  eloquence ;  —  he  deplored  so  feel- 
ingly the  errors  of  Fenelon ;  —  he  presented  his  own  conduct 
during  their  disputes  in  so  favorable  a  view,  and  put  the 

*  Life  of  Fenelon,  archbishop  of  Cambray,  by  Charles  Butler,  Esq.. 
chap.  xi. 

vol.  n.  23 


266  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

whole  together  with  such  exquisite  skill,  and  expressed  it 
with  so  much  elegance  and  even  brilliancy  of  language,  as 
excited  universal  admiration,  and  attracted  universal  favor 
to  its  author.  In  one  part  of  it  he  assumed  a  style  of  mys- 
tery, and  announced,  '  that  the  time  was  come,  when  it  was 
the  Almighty's  will,  that  the  secrets  of  the  union  [that  is  to 
say,  of  the  undue  intimacy  between  La  Combe,  Fenelon, 
and  Madame  Guyon]  should  be  revealed.'  A  terrible  reve- 
lation was  then  expected ;  it  seemed  to  appal  every  heart ; 
it  seemed  that  the  existence  of  virtue  itself  would  become 
problematical,  if  it  should  be  proved  that  Fenelon  was  not 
virtuous." 

17.  This  performance  of  Bossuet,  which  in  its  literary 
features  deserves  all  the  encomium  which  Butler  has  passed 
upon  it,  could  not  fail  to  excite  universal  attention.  There 
is  a  letter  of  Madame  de  Maintenon  extant,  which  shows 
the  eagerness  with  which  it  was  read.  "  They  talk  here  [at 
Versailles]  of  nothing  else ;  they  lend  it ;  they  snatch  it 
from  one  another  ;  they  devour  it."  There  was  a  natural 
desire  on  the  part  of  men  of  taste,  to  read  any  thing  that 
came  from  the  hand  of  Bossuet.     But  under  the  existing 

o 

circumstances,  religious  zeal,  more  than  any  thing  else,  insti- 
gated the  principle  of  curiosity.  When  the  church  was  in 
danger,  how  was  it  possible  to  remain  indifferent  ?  There 
were  some  also,  like  the  Athenian  who  was  tired  of  hearing 
Aristides  called  the  Just,  wearied  with  what  was  constantly 
said  of  the  disinterestedness  and  virtue  of  Fenelon,  who 
seized  with  avidity  upon  every  thing  that  promised  to  ob- 
scure the  lustre  of  his  character. 

18.  When  this  remarkable  work  appeared,  the  consterna- 
tion oLthe  friends  of  Fenelon  was  very  great.  Strong  in 
the  confidence  of  his  own  integrity,  and  never  doubting  the 
care  of  an  overruling  providence,  Fenelon,  who  wished  to 
retain  a  Christian  spirit  in  the  bitterness  of  controversy,  had 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  267 

at  first  no  intention  to  answer  it.  But  his  friends  informed 
him,  particularly  the  Abbe  de  Chanterac,  on  whose  opinions 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  place  great  reliance,  that  the  im- 
pression which  it  had  made  against  him  was  so  strong  as  to 
render  a  full  refutation  of  it  absolutely  necessary.  On  fur- 
ther reflection,  therefore,  he  altered  his  first  intention,  and 
made  up  his  mind  to  reply.  He  wrote  the  reply,  under  the 
title  of  an  Answer  to  the  History  of  Quietism,*  in  about  six 
weeks.  The  work  of  Bossuet  appeared  in  the  middle  of 
June ;  the  reply  of  Fenelon  was  published  on  the  third 
of  August. 

19.  If  the  work  of  Bossuet  was  ingenious  and  eloquent, 
as  any  thing  which  appeared  from  his  pen  could  hardly  be 
otherwise,  the  reply  of  Fenelon  was  not  less  so.  "A  nobler 
effusion,"  says  Butler,  "  of  the  indignation  of  insulted  virtue 
and  genius,  eloquence  has  never  produced.  In  the  very  first 
lines  of  it,  Fenelon  placed  himself  above  his  antagonist,  and 
to  the  last  preserves  his  elevation." 

"  Notwithstanding  my  innocence,"  says  Fenelon,  "  I  was 
always  apprehensive  that  the  controversy  might  take  the 
shape  of  a  dispute  in  relation  to  facts.  I  well  knew,  that 
such  a  dispute  between  persons  who  sustained  the  office  of 
bishop,  must  occasion  no  small  degree  of  scandal.  If,  as  the 
bishop  of  Meaux  has  a  hundred  times  asserted,  my  work  on 
the  Maxims  of  the  Saints  in  relation  to  the  Interior  Life, 
considered  in  its  theological  and  experimental  aspects,  is  full 
of  the  most  extravagant  contradictions  and  the  most  mon- 
strous errors,  why  does  he  introduce  other  topics,  and  have 
recourse  to  other  discussions,  which  must  be  attended  with 
the  most  terrible  of  scandals  ?  Why  does  he  reveal  to  liber- 
tines what  he  terms,  speaking  of  myself,  a  woeful  mystery, 
a  prodigy  of  seduction  ?    Why,  when  the  propriety  of  cen- 

*  Reponse  a  la  Relation  sur  le  Quietisme. 


268  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

suring  my  book  is  the  sole  question,  does  he  travel  out  of  its 
text,  and  introduce  other  matters  ? 

20.  "  The  reason  of  this  course  is  here.  The  bishop  of 
Meaux  begins  to  find  it  difficult  to  establish  the  truth  of  his 
accusations  of  my  doctrine.  In  his  inability  to  convict  me 
of  theological  error,  he  calls  to  his  aid  the  personal  history 
of  Madame  Guyon,  and  lays  hold  of  it  as  he  would  of  some 
amusing  romance,  which  he  thought  would  be  likely  to  make 
all  his  mistakes  of  my  doctrine  disappear  and  be  forgotten. 
And  not  only  this,  he  attacks  me  personally.  No  longer 
satisfied  with  unfavorable  insinuations,  he  boldly  publishes 
on  the  house-top  what  he  formerly  only  ventured  to  whisper. 
And,  in  doing  this,  I  am  obliged  to  add,  that  he  has  recourse 
to  a  mode  of  proceeding,  which  human  society  condemns  not 
only  as  wrong,  but  as  odious. 

"  The  secret  of  private  letters,  written  in  intimate  and  re- 
ligious confidence,  (the  most  sacred  after  that  of  confession,) 
has  nothing  sacred,  nothing  inviolable  to  him.  He  produces  my 
letters  to  Rome ;  he  prints  letters,  which  I  wrote  to  him  in  the 
strictest  confidence.  But  all  will  be  useless  to  him  ;  —  he  will 
find,  that  nothing  that  is  dishonorable  ever  proves  serviceable." 

21.  In  some  passages  of  the  work  of  Bossuet  the  com- 
plaint is  made,  that  improper  influences  had  been  used,  that 
cabals  and  factions  were  in  motion  in  Fenelon's  favor.  Fen- 
elon  replied  by  asserting,  if  such  were  the  case,  it  could  not 
be  ascribed  to  himself  personally,  who  was  at  that  time  ban- 
ished from  the  court  in  a  state  of  exile.  "  The  bishop  of 
Meaux,"  he  says,  "  complains  that  cabals  and  factions  are  in 
motion ;  that  passion  and  interest  divide  the  world.  Be  it 
so.  But  what  interest  can  any  person  have  to  stir  in  my 
cause  ?  I  stand  single,  and  am  wholly  destitute  of  human 
help ;  no  one,  that  has  a  view  to  his  interest,  dares  look 
upon  me.     '  Great  bodies,  great  powers,'  says  the  bishop, 

are  in  motion.'     But  where  are  the  great  bodies,  the  great 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  269 

powers  that  stand  up  for  me  ?  These  are  the  excuses  the 
bishop  of  Meaux  gives,  for  the  world's  appearing  to  be 
divided  on  his  charges  against  my  doctrine,  which  at  first  he 
represented  to  be  so  completely  abominable  as  to  admit  of 
no  fair  explanation.  This  division,  in  the  public  opinion,  on 
a  matter  which  he  represented  to  be  so  clear,  makes  him 
feel  it  advisable  to  shift  the  subject  of  dispute  from  a  ques- 
tion of  doctrine  to  a  personal  charge" 

"  If  the  bishop  of  Meaux,"  he  adds  near  the  close  of  his 
work,  "  has  any  further  writing,  any  further  evidence  to  pro- 
duce against  me,  I  conjure  him  not  to  do  it  by  halves.  Such 
a  proceeding,  which  leaves  a  part  untold,  is  worse  than  any 
full  and  open  publication.  Whatever  he  has  against  me,  I 
conjure  him  to  announce  it,  and  to  forward  it  instantly  to 
Rome.  I  thank  God,  that  I  fear  nothing  which  will  be 
communicated  and  examined  judicially.  I  fear  nothing  but 
vague  report  and  unexamined  allegation." 

He  concludes  by  saying,  "I  cannot  here  forbear  from 
calling  to  witness  the  adorable  Being  whose  eye  pierces  the 
thickest  darkness,  and  before  whom  we  must  all  appear. 
He  reads  my  heart.  He  knows  that  I  adhere  to  no  person, 
and  to  no  book ;  that  I  am  attached  to  him  alone  and  to  his 
church ;  that,  incessantly,  in  his  holy  presence,  I  beseech 
him,  with  sighs  and  tears,  to  shorten  the  days  of  scandal,  to 
bring  back  the  shepherds  to  their  flocks,  and  to  restore  peace 
to  his  church ;  —  and,  while  he  once  more  reunites  all  hearts 
in  love,  to  bestow  on  the  bishop  of  Meaux  as  many  blessings 
as  the  bishop  of  Meaux  has  inflicted  crosses  on  me." 

22.  "  Never  did  virtue  and  genius,"  says  Butler,  "  obtain 
a  more  complete  triumph.  Fenelon's  reply,  by  a  kind  of 
enchantment,  restored  to  him  every  heart.  Crushed  by  the 
strong  arm  of  power,  abandoned  by  the  multitude,  there  was 
nothing  to  which  he  could  look  but  his  own  powers.  Obliged 
to  fight  for  his  honor,  it  was  necessary  for  him,  if  he  did  not 

vol.  n,  23  * 


270  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

consent  to  sink  under  the  accusation,  to  assume  a  port  still 
more  imposing  than  that  of  his  mighty  antagonist.  Much 
had  been  expected  from  him ;  but  none  had  supposed  that  he 
would  raise  himself  to  so  prodigious  a  height  as  would  not 
only  repel  the  attack  of  his  antagonist,  but  actually  reduce 
him  to  the  defensive." 

23.  It  is  much  to  the  credit  of  Fenelon,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  that  he  seemed  entirely  willing  in  this  remarkable  work, 
that  his  own  high  character  should  stand  or  fall  with  that  of 
Madame  Guyon.  The  king  of  France  had  shown  himself 
decidedly  hostile  to  her ;  Madame  de  Maintenon,  once  her 
warm  friend,  had  either  adopted  new  views  or  had  fallen 
under  unpropitious  influences;  the  prominent  men  of  the 
Catholic  church  were  almost  all  united  against  her ;  her 
character,  as  well  as  her  opinions,  had  been  assailed ;  and, 
apparently  deserted  by  every  one,  she  was  at  the  present 
time  shut  up  in  prison.  Fenelon,  who  had  a  miud  too  pure 
to  estimate  virtue  by  the  public  favor  or  the  want  of  public 
favor  which  attended  it,  was  not  the  person  to  forsake  her  at 
this  trying  time. 

"Bossuet  attacked  her,  in  a  manner  not  the  most  ingenuous, 
by  secret  insinuations,  which  admitted  of  the  most  unfavora- 
ble construction.  Fenelon  defended  her  by  facts  and  argu- 
ments. He  not  only  produced  the  honorable  testimonials 
both  in  respect  to  her  piety  and  morals,  which  had  been 
given  her  by  Bishop  d'Aranthon  some  time  before,  but  he 
drew  a  strong  argument  in  her  favor  from  the  conduct  of 
Bossuet  himself,  who  had  repeatedly  examined  her  in  rela- 
tion to  her  opinions,  who  had  expressed  himself  in  a  favor- 
able manner  on  more  than  one  occasion,  who  just  before  her 
imprisonment  at  Vincennes  had  administered  the  sacramental 
element  to  her  with  his  own  hands,  and  given  her  an  honor- 
able written  testimonial. 

24.  In  the  second  century,  in  the  reign  of  the  Roman 


OF   MADAME   GUYON.  271 

emperor  Marcus  Aurelius,  a  religious  sect  sprang  up  called 
the  Montanists.  They  were  so  called  from  Montanus,  a 
Phrygian  by  birth ;  probably  a  man  of  piety  whose  specula- 
tive opinions  on  religion  were  vitiated  by  a  mixture  of  error. 
Certain  it  is,  that  his  doctrines  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
churches  of  that  period,  and  were  condemned  as  heretical. 
His  reputation  for  piety,  however,  was  so  great,  that  he. 
drew  after  him  many  followers ;  among  others,  two  distin- 
guished Phrygian  ladies,  Priscilla  and  Maximilla,  whose  zeal 
was  such  that  they  were  willing  to  become  his  disciples  at 
the  great  and  perhaps  criminal  expense  of  leaving  their 
families.  Priscilla,  in  particular,  became  one  of  the  active 
teachers  and  leaders  of  the  sect. 

In  one  of  the  works,  which  originated  in  this  controversy, 
Bossuet  compared  Fenelon  and  Madame  Guyon  to  Monta- 
nus and  his  friend  and  prophetess  Priscilla.  Fenelon,  who 
was  not  ignorant  of  the  estimation  in  which  Montanus  was 
held  in  the  Catholic  church,  exclaimed  against  the  compari- 
son, as  calculated  to  bring  undue  odium  upon  him.  Bossuet, 
in  justifying  what  he  had  said,  admitted,  that,  though  Mon- 
tanus and  Priscilla  were  closely  connected  with  each  other 
in  their  religious  views  and  efforts,  there  never  had  been 
any  reason  to  suspect  any  improper  and  criminal  intercourse 
between  them.  He  was  willing  to  concede,  in  conformity 
with  the  common  opinion,  that  the  relation  between  them 
was  nothing  more  than  a  community  and  intercourse  of  mere 
mental  illusion.  And  in  making  reference  to  them  in  illus- 
tration of  the  existing  state  of  things,  he  wished  to  be 
understood  as  merely  saying,  that  the  relation  of  Madame 
Guyon  and  Fenelon  was  of  the  same  nature. 

25.  This  partial  retraction  did  not  entirely  satisfy  Fene- 
lon. "  Does  my  illusion,"  he  says,  "  even  in  the  modified 
form  in  which  you  now  present  it,  resemble  that  of  Mon- 
tanus ?    That  enthusiastic  and  deluded  man  detached  from 


272  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

their  husbands  two  wives,  who  followed  him  every  where 
The  result  of  his  instructions  and  example  was  to  inspire  in 
them  the  same  false  spirit  of  prophecy  with  which  he  him- 
self was  actuated.  And  it  cannot  be  unknown  to  you,  that, 
in  the  unhappy  and  wicked  excitements  to  which  their  sys- 
tem led,  two  of  them,  Montanus  and  Maximilla,  strangled 
themselves.  And  such  is  the  man,  on  whom  succeeding 
ages  have  looked  with  disapprobation  and  even  with  horror, 
to  whom  you  think  it  proper  to  compare  me.  And  you  say 
farther,  that  I  have  no  right  to  complain  of  the  comparison. 
And  I  say  in  reply,  that  I  have  undoubtedly  less  reason  to 
complain  for  myself,  than  I  have  to  grieve  for  you  ;  —  you, 
who  can  coolly  say,  that  you  accuse  me  of  nothing,  and  cast 
no  improper  reflection  upon  me,  when  you  make  such  a 
comparison.  I  repeat,  that  you  have  done  a  greater  injury 
to  yourself  than  to  me.  But  what  a  wretched  comfort  is 
this,  when  I  see  the  scandal  it  brings  into  the  house  of  God ! 
I  can  rejoice  in  no  dishonor  which  you  may  incur  by  such 
attempts  to  injure  myself.  Such  joy  belongs  only  to  here- 
tics and  libertines." 

26.  "  The  scandal  was  not  so  great,"  says  the  Chancellor 
d'Aguesseau,  "  while  these  great  antagonists  confined  their 
quarrel  to  points  of  doctrine.  But  the  scene  was  truly  afflict- 
ing to  all  good  men,  when  they  attacked  each  other  on  facts. 
They  differed  from  each  other  so  much  in  their  statements 
that  it  seemed  impossible  that  both  of  them  should  speak 
the  truth  ;  and  the  public  saw  with  great  concern,  that  one 
of  the  two  prelates  must  be  guilty  of  prevarication.  With- 
out saying  on  which  side  the  truth  lay,  it  is  certain  that  the 
archbishop  of  Cambray  contrived  to  obtain,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  public,  the  advantage  of  probability."  * 

27.  At  this  time,  among  the  distinguished  men  of  France, 

*  See  the  Life  of  Fenelon  by  Charles  Butler.  Esq. 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  273 

was  the  Abbe  de  Ranee.  In  early  years  a  man  of  the  world, 
and  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  its  pleasures  and  honors,  his 
conversion  to  a  religious  life  was  remarkable.  But  from  the 
day  and  hour  that  his  eye  was  opened  to  the  truth  of  God 
and  his  heart  felt  the  influences  of  the  truth,  he  left  no  doubt 
of  his  purpose  to  live  to  God  alone.  Established  in  the 
office  of  regular  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  La  Trappe,  he 
projected  and  carried  into  effect  a  wonderful  reform  of  the 
monks  under  his  care,  who  had  previously  become  immersed 
in  sloth,  and  abandoned  to  shameful  excesses.  The  keen 
eye  of  this  remarkable  man,  from  the  rocks  and  forests  of 
his  almost  impenetrable  seclusion,  watched  with  great  atten- 
tion the  contest  between  Fenelon  and  Bossuet.  The  follow- 
ing letters,  addressed  to  Bossuet,  will  show  what  his  feelings 
were ;  —  and  if  a  man  so  pious,  and  in  general  so  candid, 
could  express  himself  with  so  much  severity,  I  think  we  can 
infer  from  it  how  deep  must  have  been  the  general  feeling. 
De  Ranee  was  a  man  who  distinctly  acknowledged  the  im- 
portance of  the  principle  of  faith  ;  it  would  be  uncharitable 
to  doubt  that  he  himself  was  a  sincere  believer  ;  but  attach- 
ing great  importance  to  those  physical  restraints,  humilia- 
tions, and  sufferings,  which  go  under  the  name  of  austerities, 
he  was  alarmed  at  the  diminished  estimation  in  which  they 
appeared  to  be  held  in  the  writings  of  Madame  Guyon  and 
Fenelon.  This  I  think  was  the  secret  of  the  peculiar  tone 
of  his  letters. 

"  La  Trappe,  March,  1697. 
"  To  the  Bishop  of  Meaux. 

"  I  confess,  sir,  that  I  cannot  be  silent.  The  book  of 
the  archbishop  of  Cambray  has  fallen  into  my  hands.  I  am 
unable  to  conceive  how  a  man  like  him  could  be  capable  of 
indulging  in  such  fantasies,  so  opposite  to  what  we  are  taught 
by  the  gospel,  as  well  as  by  the  holy  tradition  of  the  church. 
I  thought  that  all  the  impressions,  which  might  have  engen- 


274  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

dered  in  him  this  ridiculous  opinion,  were  entirely  effaced ; 
and  that  he  felt  only  the  grief  of  having  listened  to  them ; 
but  I  was  much  deceived.  It  is  known  that  you  have  writ- 
ten against  this  monstrous  system ;  that  is,  that  you  have 
destroyed  it,  for  whatever  you  write,  sir,  is  decisive.  I  pray 
to  God  that  he  may  bless  your  pen,  as  he  has  done  on  so 
many  other  occasions ;  and  that  he  may  gift  it  with  such 
energy,  that  not  a  stroke  it  makes  but  what  shall  be  a  blow. 
While  I  cannot  think  of  the  work  of  the  archbishop  of  Cam- 
bray  without  indignation,  I  implore  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  he  will  give  him  grace  to  be  sensible  of  his  errors." 

In  a  letter  of  the  14th  of  April  following,  the  Abbe  de 
Ranee  expresses  himself  still  more  harshly,  respecting  the 
book  of  the  archbishop  of  Cambray :  — 

"  If  the  chimeras  of  these  fanatics  were  to  be  received," 
says  he  to  Bossuet,  "  we  must  close  the  book  of  God ;  —  we 
must  abandon  the  gospel,  however  holy  and  necessary  may 
be  its  practices,  as  if  they  were  of  no  utility  ;  —  we  must,  I 
say,  hold  as  nothing  the  life  and  actions  of  Jesus  Christ, 
adorable  as  they  are,  if  the  opinions  of  these  mad  men  are 
to  find  any  credence  in  the  mind,  and  if  their  authority  be 
not  entirely  extirpated  from  it.  It  is,  in  short,  a  consummate 
impiety,  hidden  beneath  singular  and  unusual  phrases,  be- 
neath affected  expressions  and  extraordinary  terms,  all  of 
which  have  no  other  end  than  to  impose  upon  the  soul  and 
to  delude  it." 

28.  The  letters  of  the  Abbe  de  Ranee,  contrary  in  all 
probability  to  his  own  expectations,  were  made  public,  and 
great  efforts  were  made  to  circulate  them.  As  the  letters 
were  not  addressed  to  Fenelon,  and  were  apparently  written 
with  no  design  of  their  being  published,  he  did  not  think  it 
proper  to  make  any  formal  reply  to  them.  A  few  months 
afterwards,  however,  he  had  occasion  to  address  a  Pastoral 
Letter,  written  at  considerable  length,  to  the  clergy  of  his 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  275 

own  diocese.  The  letter,  while  it  did  not  entirely  exclude 
some  other  appropriate  topics,  was  a  learned  and  eloquent 
defence  of  the  doctrine  of  pure  loye,  as  expressing  a  true, 
desirable,  and  possible  form  of  Christian  experience.  The 
publication  of  this  letter  seemed  to  Fenelon  to  furnish  a  suit- 
able opportunity  to  open  a  correspondence  with  de  Ranee. 
He  accordingly  sent  to  the  Abbe  a  copy  of  it,  accompanied 
by  the  following  letter,  addressed  to  the  Abbe  himself :  — 

"Cambray,  Oct.  1697. 
"  To  the  Abbe  de  Ranee. 

"  I  take  the  liberty,  my  reverend  father,  of  sending 
you  a  Pastoral  Letter,  which  I  have  issued  respecting  my 
book.  This  explanation  seemed  to  me  to  be  necessary,  as 
soon  as  I  perceived  from  your  letters,  which  were  made  pub- 
lic, that  so  enlightened  and  experienced  a  man  as  yourself 
had  conceived  me  in  a  manner  very  different  from  my  mean- 
ing. I  am  not  surprised,  that  you  believed  what  was  said 
to  you  against  me,  both  with  regard  to  the  past  and  the 
present.  I  am  not  known  to  you  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in 
me  which  can  render  it  difficult  to  believe  the  evil  which  is 
reported  of  me.  You  have  confided  in  the  opinion  of  a  pre- 
late -whose  acquirements  are  very  vast.  It  is  true,  my  rev- 
erend father,  that,  if  you  had  done  me  the  honor  to  write  to 
me  respecting  any  thing  which  may  have  displeased  you  in 
my  book,  I  should  have  endeavored  either  to  remove  your 
displeasure,  or  to  correct  myself.  In  case  you  should  be 
thus  kind,  after  having  read  the  accompanying  pastoral  let- 
ter, I  shall  still  be  ready  to  profit  by  your  knowledge,  and 
with  deference.  Nothing  has  occurred  to  alter  in  me  those 
sentiments  which  are  due  to  you,  and  to  the  work  which  God 
has  performed  through  you.  Besides,  I  am  sure  you  will 
not  be  hostile  to  the  doctrine  of  disinterested  love,  when  that 
which  is  equivocal  in  it  shall  be  removed ;  and  when  you 


276  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

are  convinced  how  much  I  should  abhor  to  weaken  the  ne- 
cessity of  desiring  our  beatitude  in  God.  On  this  subject  I 
wish  for  nothing  more  than  what  St.  Bernard  has  taught 
with  so  much  sublimity,  and  which  you  know  better  than  I 
do.  He  left  this  doctrine  to  his  children  as  their  most  pre- 
cious inheritance.  If  it  were  lost  and  forgotten  in  the  whole 
world  beside,  it  is  at  La  Trappe,  where  we  should  still  find 
it  in  the  hearts  of  your  pious  ascetics.  It  is  this  love  which 
gives  their  real  value  to  the  holy  austerities  which  they 
practise.  This  pure  love,  which  leaves  nothing  to  nature, 
by  referring  every  thing  to  grace,  does  not  encourage  illu- 
sion, which  always  springs  from  the  natural  and  excessive 
love  of  ourselves.  It  is  not  in  yielding  to  this  pure  love,  but 
in  not  following  it  sufficiently,  that  we  are  misled.  I  cannot 
conclude  this  letter  without  soliciting  of  you  the  aid  of  your 
prayers,  and  of  those  of  your  community.  I  have  need  of 
them  ;  —  you  love  the  church ;  —  God  is  my  witness  that  I 
wish  to  live  but  for  her,  and  that  I  should  abhor  myself,  if 
I  could  account  myself  as  any  thing  on  this  occasion. 

"  I  shall  ever  be  with  sincere  veneration, 
"  Yours,  &c. 

>  "  Francis,  Archbishop  of  Cambrat." 

» 

29.  I  think  the  reader  will  hardly  fail  to  notice  a  marked 
difference  in  the  spirit  of  these  letters.  Such  was  the  repu- 
tation for  piety  of  the  Abbe  de  Ranee,  that  few  men  in 
France  at  that  time,  perhaps  none,  could  have  done  Fenelon 
so  much  injury.  But  how  calmly  and  triumphantly  does 
the  gentle  and  purified  spirit  of  Fenelon  carry  him  above 
the  violence  which  issued  from  the  solitude  of  La  Trappe  ! 
De  Ranee  had  faith ;  but  embarrassed,  probably,  by  that 
common  idea  which  precludes  the  hope  of  victory  in  the 
present  life,  he  had  not  faith  enough  to  subdue  the  fears,  the 
agitations,  and  the  injustice  of  nature. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  277 

The  faith  of  Fenelon,  who  had  taken  the  promises  of 
God  without  a  doubt,  was  of  that  triumphant  kind  which  can 
forgive  its  enemies,  and  turn,  the  other  cheek  to  him  who 
has  smitten  us.  Nothing  could  be  more  meek,  and  at  the 
same  time  more  confiding  and  generous,  than  the  spirit 
which  he  manifested.  "  We  know  not,"  says  M.  de  Bausset, 
in  his  life  of  Fenelon,  "  whether  the  Abbe  de  Eance  replied 
to  this  letter.  It  must  certainly  have  caused  him  some  re- 
gret for  having  expressed  himself  with  so  much  asperity 
concerning  a  bishop  who  wrote  to  him  with  such  mildness 
and  esteem.  It  is  certain,  hoivever,  that  the  name  of  the 
Abbe  of  la  Trappe  was  heard  no  more  in  the  course  of  this 
controversy." 


vol.  it.  24 


CHAPTER    XV. 

1697-1699.  The  subject  of  controversy  brought  before  the  Pope, 
Innocent  Twelfth.  He  appoints  commissioners  to  examine  it.  Of 
the  divisions  which  existed  in  regard  to  it.  The  decision  in  rela- 
tion to  the  book  delayed.  Dissatisfaction  of  the  king  of  France. 
He  writes  a  letter  to  the  Pope.  He  banishes  Fenelon.  Letter  of 
Fenelon  to  Madame  de  Maintenon.  Interest  expressed  in  the 
behalf  of  Fenelon  by  the  duke  of  Burgundy.  Conversation  of 
the  king  with  the  duke  de  Beauvilliers.  His  treatment  of  the 
Abbe  Beaumont  and  others.  Interesting  letter  of  Fenelon  to  the 
duke  de  Beauvilliers.  Second  letter  of  the  king  to  the  pope. 
Condemnation  of  Fenelon. 

It  was  seen  at  an  early  period  of  the  controversy,  that 
there  was  no  probability  of  its  being  settled  by  any  tribunal 
short  of  the  highest  authority  of  the  Catholic  church,  that  of 
the  pope  himself.  At  this  time  Innocent  Twelfth,  a  man 
of  a  benevolent  and  equitable  spirit,  filled  the  papal  chair. 
The  subject  was  brought  to  his  notice,  and  pressed  upon  him 
with  great  earnestness,  by  persons  who  were  supposed  to 
act  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  Louis  Fourteenth. 

2.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  it  was  a  matter  of  great 
grief  to  the  pope,  that  such  a  controversy  on  such  a  subject 
should  be  brought  before  him.  He  had  indulged  the  hope 
that  the  business  might  be  settled  in  France  by  mild  and 
conciliatory  measures ;  and  went  so  far  as  to  order  his 
nuncio  to  express  this  wish  to  Louis.  The  suggestion  was 
entirely  unavailing.     The  mind  of  Louis  was  so  strongly 


LIFE,  ETC.  279 

possessed  with  the  idea,  that  the  doctrine  of  Fenelon  was 
heretical ;  it  had  caused  such  great  discussions  and  divisions 
in  France  ;  and  in  many  ways  it  had  been  so  brought  before 
his  notice,  and  had  so  implicated  itself  in  his  various  rela- 
tions, that  it  had  become  a  personal  concern.  It  is  obvious, 
I  think,  that  nothing  would  satisfy  him  but  its  formal  con- 
demnation. 

The  position  of  Innocent  was  a  trying  one.  Such  were 
the  relations  existing  between  him  and  the  king  of  France, 
that  it  would  probably  have  occasioned  much  difficulty  be- 
tween them,  if  he  had  declined  giving  attention  to  a  matter, 
in  which  the  king  had  shown  so  much  interest. 

3.  The  pope  began  the  unpleasant  work,  which  was  thus 
devolved  upon  him,  by  appointing  a  commission  of  twelve 
persons,  called  consultors,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
book  of  Fenelon  and  giving  an  opinion  upon  it.  They  were 
directed  to  hold  their  meetings  in  the  chamber  of  the  master 
of  the  Sacred  Palace.  Having  discussed  the  principles  and 
expressions  of  the  book,  in  twelve  successive  sittings,  they 
found  themselves  so  divided  in  opinion  in  relation  to  it,  that 
no  satisfactory  result  could  reasonably  be  anticipated  from  a 
continuance  of  their  deliberations.  They  were  accordingly 
dissolved. 

His  next  step  was  to  select  a  commission  or  congregation 
of  cardinals,  in  the  hopes,  if  the  work  were  so  heretical  as  it 
was  pronounced  by  some  to  be,  that  they  would  be  able  to 
come  to  some  conclusion,  which  would  aid  him  in  forming 
his  own  decision,  —  a  decision  which  he  felt  would  naturally 
involve  great  responsibility.  This  body  also  had  twelve 
sittings.  They  found  themselves,  however,  greatly  divided  ; 
came  to  no  conclusion,  and  were  dissolved.* 

4.  He  then  appointed  a  new  congregation  of  cardinals, 

*  See  the  Life  of  Fenelon  by  Charles  Butler,  Esq. 


280  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

They  met  in  consultation  no  less  than  fifty-two  times.  The 
result  of  their  deliberations  was,  but  by  no  means  with  en- 
tire unanimity,  that  they  extracted  from  Fenelon's  work  a 
number  of  propositions  which  they  regarded  as  censurable, 
and  reported  them  to  the  pope.  After  they  had  advanced 
so  far,  they  held  thirty-seven  meetings  to  settle  the  form  of 
the  censure.  In  addition  to  these  more  formal  meetings, 
private  conferences  on  the  subject  were  frequently  held  by 
the  pope's  direction,  and  sometimes  in  his  presence. 

5.  The  cardinals  Alfaro,  Fabroni,  Bouillon,  and  Gabriel- 
lio,  and  some  others  perhaps  of  less  note,  took  the  side  of 
Fenelon.*  Men  of  no  ordinary  learning  and  power,  they 
maintained  with  great  ability,  that  the  doctrine  in  question 
had  authority  and  support  in  many  approved  Catholic  wri- 
ters. They  did  not  hesitate,  in  the  least,  to  defend  the  state- 
ments repeatedly  made  by  Fenelon  in  his  arguments  with 
Bossuet  and  on  other  occasions,  that  it  was  a  doctrine  not 
only  received  but  greatly  cherished  by  many  pious  and 
learned  men  in  all  ages  of  the  church ;  by  Clement,  Cassian, 
Dionysius,  Thauler,  Gerson,  De  Sales,  John  of  the  Cross, 
St.  Theresa,  the  bishop  of  Bellay  and  others ;  and  to  this 
they  were  willing  to  add,  that  there  was  not  more  of  such 
learned  and  pious  authority  in  its  favor,  than  there  was  of 
Scripture  and  reason.  Gabriellio  said,  on  one  occasion,  ex- 
pressly, that  it  was  a  doctrine,  conformed  to  the  Scriptures, 
the  Fathers,  and  the  Mystics. 

They  did  not,  however,  in  maintaining  the  doctrine  of 
pure  love,  exclude  the  idea  of  a  suitable  regard  to  our  own 
happiness.     They  seem  to  have  taken  the  ground,  that  God 


*  See  the  work,  entitled,  Relation  de  l'Origine,  du  Progres,  et  de  la 
Condemnation  du  Quietisme  repandu  en  France ;  —  anonymous,  but 
generally  ascribed  to  Monsieur  Phelipeaux,  a  Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne. 
and  an  intimate  friend  of  Bossuet. 


OF    MADAME    GDYON.  281 

and  ourselves,  considered  as  objects  of  love,  are  incom- 
mensurable ;  and  consequently  that  the  motive  of  God's  love, 
exceeding  the  other  beyond  all  comparison,  practically  ab- 
sorbs and  annihilates  it.  So  that  a  soul  wholly  given  to 
God,  may  properly  be  said  to  love  God  alone.  But  the 
doctrine  of  God  alone  does  not  exclude  other  things,  since 
God  is  All  in  All.  In  other  words,  in  loving  God  for  him- 
self alone,  who  is  the  sum  of  all  good,  we  cannot  help  loving 
ourselves,  our  neighbor,  and  every  thing  else  in  their  proper 
place  and  degree.  Alfaro,  in  concluding  some  remarks,  at 
one  of  these  meetings,  read  a  letter  addressed  many  ages 
before,  by  St.  Louis  of  France,  to  one  of  his  daughters,  in 
which  he  advised  her  to  do  every  thing  from  the  principle 
of  pure  love. 

6.  Among  other  things,  they  expressed  no  small  degree 
of  dissatisfaction  with  the  course  the  controversy  had  taken 
in  certain  respects  ;  remonstrating  strongly  against  the  at- 
tempt to  confound  doctrines  with  men,  to  implicate  the  per- 
manency of  truth  with  the  imperfections  of  character,  and 
to  support  a  doubtful  argument  by  personal  defamation.  I 
think  we  may  justly  say,  that  it  was  much  to  their  credit, 
when  they  saw  the  efforts  constantly  made  in  high  places 
and  low,  to  destroy  the  character  of  Fenelon,  that  they  gave 
their  opinions  freely  and  boldly  in  his  favor.  "  Consider  a 
moment,"  said  Cardinal  Bouillon,  "  who  it  is  that  you  pro- 
pose to  condemn  ?  A  distinguished  archbishop,  a  man  pru- 
dent and  wise  in  the  government  of  his  diocese,  a  man  who 
combines  with  a  literary  taste  and  power  not  exceeded  by 
that  of  any  other  person  in  the  kingdom,  the  utmost  sanctity 
of  life  and  manners."  They  went  so  far  as  to  intimate,  that, 
if  the  doctrine  of  pure  love  were  condemned,  sustained  as 
it  was  by  such  a  weight  of  authority  and  argument,  and  en- 
circled as  it  was  by  so  many  strong  affections,  —  it  could 
hardly  fail  to  produce  a  schism  in  the  church. 

vol.  it.  24  * 


282  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

7.  The  leading  men  on  the  other  side  were  the  cardinals 
Massoulier,  Pantiatici,  Carpegna,  Casanata,  and  Granelli. 
Their  arguments  were  directed  against  the  doctrine,  partly 
in  its  general  form,  and  partly  against  particular  expressions 
and  views,  which  characterized  it,  in  the  writings  of  Fenelon. 
So  far  as  their  arguments  were  general,  they  were  very 
much  the  same  as  are  employed  against  it  at  the  present 
day.  They  maintained  that  it  was  a  state  too  high  to  be 
possessed  and  maintained  in  the  present  life ;  that  there 
were  many  things  in  the  Scriptures  against  it ;  that  the  ex- 
aggerated expressions  in  the  mystical  or  experimental  writ- 
ers of  the  Catholic  church  ought  to  be  received  in  a  modi- 
fied sense  ;  that  it  was  either  modified  or  rejected  by  a  great 
majority  of  their  theological  writers  and  other  writers  not  of 
the  mystical  class ;  and  that  it  had  been  attended,  in  a  num- 
ber of  instances,  with  practical  disorders. 

8.  The  contest  between  the  two  parties  was  animated, 
and  sometimes  violent.  For  a  time  it  seemed  doubtful  what 
would  be  the  result.  The  discussion  was  thus  continued 
from  1697  to  1699,  a  period  of  nearly  two  years,  under  the 
eye  and  in  the  presence  of  the  pope.  The  king  of  France, 
who  was  in  frequent  communication  with  Bossuet  on  the 
subject,  became  impatient,  on  learning  doubts  which  he  did 
not  himself  entertain,  and  under  a  delay  which  he  did  not 
anticipate. 

In  order  to  hasten  an  issue,  which  seemed  to  him  very 
desirable,  he  had  written  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  contro- 
versy a  letter  to  the  pope,  in  which  he  denounced  the  book 
of  the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  as  erroneous  and  dangerous, 
and  as  already  censured  by  a  great  number  of  theological 
doctors  and  other  learned  persons.  He  added,  that  the  ex- 
planations more  recently  given  by  the  archbishop  were  inad- 
missible ;  and  concluded  by  assuring  the  pope,  that  he  would 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  283 

employ  all  his  authority  to  obtain  the  due  execution  of  his 
Holiness'  decree* 

This  letter,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Bossuet,  was  dated 
the  26th  of  July,  1697. 

9.  The  desires  and  feelings  of  the  king  were  made  known 
in  other  ways  still  more  painful.  When  Fenelon  was  first 
appointed  archbishop  of  Cambray  in  1695,  his  character  was 
so  much  esteemed  and  his  services  were  regarded  so  im- 
portant, the  king  insisted,  that  he  should  spend  three  months 
in  a  year  at  Versailles  in  the  instruction  of  the  young 
princes. 

Six  days  after  the  date  of  the  letter  to  the  pope,  the  king 
wrote  a  letter  or  order  to  Fenelon,  which  might  properly  be 
denominated  an  order  of  banishment,  in  which  he  required 
him  to  leave  Versailles,  and  repair  to  the  diocese  of  Cambray, 
and  forbade  him  to  quit  it.  It  was  added  further,  that  he 
was  not  at  liberty  to  delay  his  departure  any  longer  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  arrange  his  affairs. 

10.  Those  principles  of  inward  experience,  which  so  trium- 
phantly sustained  Madame  Guyon  in  her  imprisonment,  re- 
ceived a  new  confirmation  in  the  victory  which  they  now 
achieved  in  Fenelon.  The  very  moment  he  received  from 
the  king  the  order  which  thus  banished  him  from  all  places 
out  of  his  own  diocese,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Ma- 
dame de  Maintenon.  Bausset  says,  that  he  copied  it  from 
the  original  manuscript  in  Fenelon's  handwriting. 

"  Versailles,  Aug.  1,  1697. 

"  In  obedience  to  the  king's  commands,  madame,  I  shall 

depart  from  this  place  to-morrow.    I  would  not  pass  through 

Paris,  did  I  not  feel  it  difficult  to  find  any  where  else  a  man 

fit  to  attend  to  my  affairs  at  Rome,  and  who  would  be  willing 

*  Life  of  Fenelon,  by  Bausset,  vol.  i.  p.  182. 


284  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

to  make  the  journey  there.  I  shall  return  to  Cambray  with 
a  heart  full  of  submission,  full  of  zeal,  of  gratitude,  and  of 
the  greatest  attachment  towards  the  king.  My  greatest  grief 
is,  that  I  have  harassed -and  displeased  him.  Not  a  day  of 
my  life  shall  pass  over,  that  I  will  not  pray  to  God  to  bless 
him.  I  am  willing  to  be  still  more  humbled.  The  only 
thing  that  I  would  implore  of  his  Majesty  is,  that  the  dio- 
cese of  Cambray,  which  is  guiltless,  may  not  suffer  for  the 
faults  that  are  imputed  to  me.  I  solicit  protection  only  for 
the  church  ;  and  I  limit  this  protection  to  the  circumstance 
of  being  free  to  perform  the  little  good  that  my  situation 
will  permit  me  to  perform  as  part  of  my  duty. 

"  It  only  remains,  madame,  that  I  request  your  forgiveness 
for  all  the  trouble  I  may  have  caused  you.  God  knows  how 
much  I  regret  it ;  and  I  will  unceasingly  pray  to  him,  until 
he  alone  shall  occupy  your  whole  heart.  I  shall,  all  my  life, 
be  as  sensible  of  your  past  goodness,  as  though  I  had  never 
forfeited  it;  and  my  respectful  attachment  towards  you, 
madame,  will  never  diminish." 

11.  "  We  may  easily  conceive,"  says  Bausset,  "  what  an 
effect  this  letter,  every  line  of  which  breathes  nothing  but 
mildness,  affection,  and  serenity,  had  upon  Madame  de  Main- 
tenon.  Recalling  all  her  former' friendship  for  Fenelon,  she 
could  not  conceal  from  herself,  the  active  part  which  she 
had  taken  in  his  present  disgrace.  It  cannot,  indeed,  be 
doubted,  that  this  letter  left  a  painful  and  durable  impression 
upon  her  heart.  She  tells  us,  herself,  that  her  health  was 
impaired  in  consequence ;  and  that  she  did  not  conceal  the 
cause  of  her  illness  from  Louis  XIV.  The  monarch  him- 
self seemed,  at  first,  to  be  a  little  hurt ;  and  could  not  help 
peevishly  exclaiming  to  her,  as  he  marked  her  affliction,  — 
So  it  seems,  madame,  ive  are  to  see  you  die  in  consequence  of 
this  business" 

12.  The  duke  of  Burgundy,  who  had  owed  so  much  to 


OF    MADAME    GUYi)N.  285 

the  labors  and  prayers  of  Fenelon,  was  no  sooner  informed 
of  the  order  of  exile  against  his  beloved  preceptor,  than  he 
hastened  to  throw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  king,  his  grand- 
father. He  appealed  to  himself  and  to  the  renovation  of  his 
own  heart  and  life,  as  a  proof  of  the  purity  of  the  life  and 
maxims  of  his  faithful  and  affectionate  instructer.  Louis 
was  touched  by  an  attachment  so  ingenuous  and  generous. 
But  fixed  in  his  principles  of  belief,  and  invariable  in  what- 
ever he  had  decided,  he  merely  replied  to  the  young  prince, 
My  son,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  make  this  thing  a  matter  of 
favor.  The  purity  of  religious  faith  is  concerned  in  it. 
And  Bossuet  knows  more  on  that  subject  than  either  you 
or  I. 

13.  On  the  second  of  August,  Fenelon  departed  from  Ver- 
sailles, never  to  return  again.  He  found  it  necessary  to 
pass  through  the  city  of  Paris  ;  but  he  remained  there  only 
twenty-four  hours.  He  cast  a  tender  and  last  look  towards 
the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpitius,  in  which  he  had  spent  the 
peaceful  and  happy  years  of  his  youth.  A  motive  of  deli- 
cacy, nevertheless,  forbade  his  entering  its  walls.  He  feared 
that  he  might  involve  in  his  own  sorrow  and  disgrace  his 
former  friend  and  instructor,  Monsieur  Tronson,  who  had 
the  charge  of  it.  He,  however,  wrote  him  a  few  lines,  in 
which  he  expressed  his  veneration  and  gratitude  ;  and  ask- 
ing the  continuance  of  that  good  man's  prayers,  of  which  he 
said  he  had  much  need  in  his  sufferings,  he  went  on  his  way. 

14.  It  was  but  a  few  months  after  he  had  reached  Cam- 
bray,  and  was  assiduously  engaged  in  his  religious  duties 
among  his  own  people,  when  he  received  intimations,  that 
the  way  was  open  for  his  return  on  certain  conditions. 
To  this  he  refers  in  a  letter  to  the  Abbe  de  Chanterac,  dated 
Dec.  9, 1 697.  "  It  is  reported,"  he  says,  "  that  the  only  means 
by  which  I  can  appease  the  king,  obtain  my  return  to  court, 
and  prevent  all  scandal,  is  to  remove  the  present  unfavora- 


286  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ble  opinions  by  an  humble  acknowledgment  of  error.  But  I 
assure  you  that  I  have  no  present  nor  future  idea  of  return- 
ing to  court.  If  I  am  in  error,  it  is  my  desire  to  be  unde- 
ceived. But  as  long  as  I  am  unable  to  perceive  my  error, 
it  is  my  purpose  to  justify  my  position  with  unceasing  pa- 
tience and  humility.  Be  assured  that  I  will  never  return  to 
court  at  the  expense  of  truth,  or  by  a  compromise,  which 
would  leave  the  purity  either  of  my  doctrine  or  of  my  repu- 
tation in  doubt." 

15.  The  friends  of  Fenelon  were,  to  some  extent,  in- 
volved in  his  calamities.  Foremost  among  those  friends  was 
the  duke  de  Beauvilliers,  who  held  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant places  in  the  kingdom.  He  believed  in  the  doctrine  of 
pure  love,  originated  and  sustained  by  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God ;  and  he  had  experienced  in  his  own  renovated  heart 
the  effects  which  this  doctrine,  more  than  any  other,  is  calcu- 
lated to  produce.  He  was  the  avowed  and  known  friend 
of  Madame  Guyon,  as  well  as  of  Fenelon.  The  king  was 
offended  with  him.  Taking  Beauvilliers  aside,  soon  after 
the  banishment  of  the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  he  told  him 
with  his  own  lips  how  much  he  was  dissatisfied  at  his  con- 
nection with  a  person  whose  doctrines  were  so  much  sus- 
pected. He  intimated  to  him  distinctly,  that  his  continuance 
in  such  a  course  would  be  likely  to  be  attended  with  the 
most  unpleasant  consequences. 

Beauvilliers,  in  reply  to  Louis,  assured  him  of  his  en- 
tire conviction,  that  the  princes  who  had  been  under  the 
care  of  the  archbishop  of  Cambray  had  not  been  infected 
with  any  erroneous  or  dangerous  doctrine.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded to  say,  —  "I  remember,  sire,  that  I  recommended  to 
your  majesty  the  appointment  of  Fenelon  to  be  the  precep- 
tor of  the  duke  of  Burgundy.  I  can  never  repent  that  I 
did  so.  I  have  been  the  friend  of  Fenelon  ;  I  am  his  friend 
now.     T  can  submit  to  whatever  your  majesty  may  impose 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  287 

upon  me  ;  but  I  cannot  eradicate  the  sentiments  of  my  heart. 
The  power  of  your  majesty  has  raised  me  to  my  present 
position  :  the  same  power  can  degrade  me.  Acknowledging 
the  will  of  God  in  the  will  of  my  king,  I  shall  cheerfully 
withdraw  from  your  court  whenever  you  shall  require  it; 
regretting  that  I  have  displeased  you,  and  hoping  that  I 
may  lead  hereafter  a  life  of  greater  tranquillity. 

The  king,  overawed  by  the  nobleness  of  his  sentiments,  or 
fearing  the  rashness  of  the  course  which  he  had  threatened, 
permitted  him  to  remain  in  his  place. 

16.  The  next  year,  on  the  2d  of  June,  1698,  the  king 
deprived  the  Abbe  Beaumont  and  the  Abbe  de  Langeron  of 
their  title  of  sub-preceptors.  "The  former  Was  Feneloris 
nephew  ;  the  latter  was  his  most  tender  and  faithful  friend. 
Messieurs  M.  Dupuy  and  De  Leschelle,  gentlemen  who  held 
situations  about  the  person  of  the  young  prince,  were  also 
dismissed  on  the  same  day,  and  ordered  to  quit  the  court. 
The  pretext  for  their  dismission  was  their  partiality  for  the 
spiritual  maxims  of  the  archbishop  of  Cambray.  The  real 
motive  was  their  affectionate  and  inviolable  fidelity  towards 
him. 

"  All  of  them  had  been  concerned  in  the  education  of  the 
duke  of  Burgundy  for  nine  years  ;  —  and  the  excellence  of 
this  education  has  been  detailed.  They  were  dismissed 
without  receiving  the  slightest  reward -for  their  services. 
Thus  severely  were  punished  the  men,  who  had  transformed 
the  vices  of  the  duke  of  Burgundy  into  virtues ;  a  severity 
which  could  have  been  justified  only,  had  they  changed  his 
virtues  into  vices."  * 

17.  Fenelon,  in  the  distant  place  of  his  exile,  was  made 
acquainted  with  these  transactions.  He  felt  more  deeply 
the  disgrace  and  suffering  of  his  friends,  than  he  did  hi& 

*  Bausset's  Life  of  Fenelon.  vol.  i.  chap.  xi. 


288  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

own;  but  he  maintained,  under  circumstances  so  exceedingly 
trying,  the  same  equanimity  and  triumphant  faith,  which 
had  supported  him  hitherto.  In  a  letter,  which  he  wrote  at 
this  time  to  the  duke  of  Beauvilliers,  we  find  the  following 
expressions,  which  indicate  very  clearly,  how  patient  and 
lovely  is  the  heart  that  is  wholly  given  to  God :  — 

"  I  cannot  avoid  telling  you,  my  good  duke,  what  I  have 
at  heart.  Yesterday  I  spent  the  day  in  devotion  and  prayer 
for  the  king.  I  did  not  ask  for  him  any  temporal  prosperity, 
for  of  that  he  has  enough.  I  only  begged  that  he  might 
make  a  good  use  of  it ;  and  that,  amidst  such  great  success, 
he  might  be  as  humble,  as  if  he  had  undergone  some  deep 
humiliation.  I  begged  that  he  might  not  only  fear  God  and 
respect  religion,  but  that  he  might  also  love  God,  and  feel 
how  easy  and  light  his  yoke  is  to  those  who  bear  it  less 
through  fear  than  love.  I  never  found  in  myself  a  greater 
degree  of  zeal ;  or,  if  I  may  venture  to  use  the  expression, 
of  affection  to  his  person. 

"  Far  from  being  under  any  uneasiness  at  my  present 
situation,  which  might  have  suggested  unpleasant  feelings 
against  him,  I  would  have  offered  myself  with  joy  to  God, 
for  the  sanctification  of  the  king.  I  even  considered  his 
zeal  against  my  book  as  a  commendable  effect  of  his  religion, 
and  of  his  just  abhorrence  of  whatever  has  to  him  the  ap- 
pearance of  novelty.  Desirous  that  he  might  be  an  object 
of  the  divine  favor,  I  called  to  mind  his  education  without 
solid  instruction,  the  flatteries  which  have  surrounded  him, 
the  snares  laid  for  him  in  his  youth,  the  profane  counsels 
that  were  given  him,  the  distrust  that  was  with  so  much 
pains  instilled  into  him  against  the  excesses  of  certain  pro- 
fessors of  devotion  ;  and  lastly,  the  perils  of  greatness,  and 
so  great  a  multiplicity  of  nice  affairs.  I  own,  that  with  all 
these  things  in  view,  I  had  great  compassion  for  a  soul  so 
much  exposed.     I  judged  his  case  deserved  to  be  lamented  ; 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  289 

and  I  wished  him  a  more  plentiful  degree  of  mercy  to  sup- 
port him  in  so  formidable  a  state  of  prosperity.  In  all  this 
I  had  not,  as  I  apprehended,  the  least  interested  view ;  for  I 
would  have  consented  to  a  perpetual  disgrace,  provided  I 
knew  that  the  king  was  entirely  after  God's  own  heart. 

"  As  far  as  relates  to  myself,  all  I  can  say  is,  I  am  at 
peace  in  the  midst  of  almost  continual  sufferings.  Trusting 
in  God's  assistance  to  sustain  me,  the  scandals  which  my 
enemies  cast  upon  me  shall  neither  exasperate  nor  discour- 
age me." 

18.  One  object  of  these  proceedings  of  the  king  of  France, 
which  were  characterized  by  an  unusual  degree  of  violence, 
was  to  make  an  impression  at  Rome.  They  were  a  part  of 
a  plan  of  intimidation ;  but  they  did  not  have  all  the  effect, 
or  at  least  all  the  immediate  effect,  which  was  anticipated 
from  them.  Public  opinion  was  still  divided  ;  there  had 
been  a  want  of  unanimity  in  the  debates  and  decisions  of  the 
congregation  of  the  cardinals  at  Rome ;  the  pope  himself 
hesitated  to  give  a  decision. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Louis,  near  the  close  of  the 
year  1698,  wrote  another  letter,  which  was  despatched  to 
the  pope  by  an  extraordinary  courier.     It  was  as  follows :  — 

"  Most  holy  Father, 

"At  the  time  when  I  expected  from  the  zeal  and  friend- 
ship of  your  Holiness,  a  prompt  decision  upon  the  book  of 
the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  I  could  not  learn,  without  grief, 
that  this  decision,  so  necessary  to  the  peace  of  the  church,  is 
still  retarded  by  the  artifices  of  those  who  think  it  their  inter- 
est  to  protract  it.  I  see  so  clearly  the  fatal  consequences 
of  this  delay,  that  I  should  not  consider  myself  as  duly  sup- 
porting the  title  of  eldest  son  of  the  church,  were  I  not  to 
reiterate  the  urgent  entreaties  which  I  have  so  often  made 
to  your  Holiness,  and  to  beg  of  you  to  calm,  at  length,  the 

vol.  u.  25 


290  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

anxieties  of  conscience  which  this  book  has  caused.  Tran- 
quillity can  now  be  expected  only  from  the  decision  that 
shall  be  pronounced  by  the  common  father  ;  —  but  let  it  be 
clear  and  precise*  and  capable  of  no  misinterpretations ;  — 
such  a  decision,  in  fact,  as  is  necessary  to  remove  all  doubt 
with  regard  to  doctrine,  and  to  eradicate  the  very  root  of 
the  evil.  I  demand,  most  holy  Father,  this  decision,  for  the 
good  of  the  church,  the  tranquillity  of  the  faithful,  and  for 
the  glory  of  your  Holiness.  You  know  how  truly  sensible  I 
am,  and  how  much  I  am  convinced  of  your  paternal  tender- 
ness. To  such  powerful  and  important  motives,  I  would 
add,  the  attention  which  I  entreat  you  to  pay  to  my  request, 
and  the  filial  respect  with  which  I  am, 
"  Most  holy  Father, 

"  Your  truly  devoted  Son, 

"  Louis." 

19.  It  was  under  such  circumstances  as  these,  on  the 
12th  of  March,  1699,  that  a  decree  was  issued  over  the  sig- 
nature of  the  pope,  condemning  the  book  of  Fenelon,  or 
perhaps  more  properly  condemning  twenty-three  proposi- 
tions, which  purported  to  be  extracted  from  it.  The  pope, 
however,  took  the  pains  to  say,  and  to  have  it  understood, 
that  they  were  condemned  in  the  sense  which  they  might 
bear,  or  which  they  were  actually  regarded  as  bearing  in 
the  view  of  others,  and  not  in  the  sense  in  which  they  were 
explained  by  Fenelon  himself.  "  The  pope,"  says  Monsieur 
de  Bausset,  "  had  openly  declared  on  many  occasions,  that 
neither  he  nor  the  cardinals  had  intended  to  condemn  the 
explanations,  which  the  archbishop  of  Cambray  had  given 
of  his  book." 

To  such  a  condemnation  Fenelon  could  have  comparatively 
but  little  objection.  It  was  really  not  a  condemnation  of  him- 
self, but  of  others  who  undertook  to  speak  and  to  interpret  for 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  291 

him.  While  he  was  sincere  and  firm  in  his  own  belief,  he  had 
no  disposition  to  defend  the  misconceptions  and  perversions  of 
other  people.  To  what  extent,  however,  he  availed  himself 
of  the  suggestion  which  thus  dropped  from  the  pope,  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing.  Certain  it  is,  whatever  view  he  took 
of  the  act  of  condemnation,  he  made  no  complaint.  He 
thought  it  his  duty  as  a  Catholic  to  be  submissive  to  the 
higher  authorities  of  his  church.  He  received  the  news  of 
his  condemnation  on  the  Sabbath,  just  as  he  was  about  to 
ascend  his  pulpit  to  preach.  He  delayed  a  few  moments  ; 
changed  the  plan  of  his  sermon,  and  delivered  one  upon  the 
duty  of  submission  to  the  authority  of  superiors. 

From  that  time  he  ceased  to  write  controversially  upon 
the  subject.  But,  without  regarding  what  was  said  by  others, 
and  in  the  discharge  of  his  own  duties  among  his  own  people, 
he  never  ceased  to  inculcate  in  his  life,  his  conversations, 
and  his  practical  writings,  the  doctrine  of  pure  love.  He 
thought  it  his  duty  to  avoid  certain  forms  of  expression,  and 
certain  illustrations  which  had  been  specifically  condemned 
in  the  papal  decree,  and  which  were  liable  to  misconception ; 
but  it  is  not  easy  to  see  that  he  went  further.  In  other 
words,  he  condemned  sincerely  what  he  understood  the  pope 
to  condemn ;  and  he  did  this  without  any  change,  further 
than  has  already  been  intimated,  either  in  his  life  or  opin- 
ions. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Character  of  Fenelon.  Labors  in  his  diocese.  His  method  oj 
preaching.  His  visits  among  his  people.  Of  the  peasant  who 
lost  his  cow.  The  feelings  of  Fenelon,  when  the  bishop's  palace 
at  Camhray  was  burnt.  His  conduct  during  a  time  of  war.  Re- 
spect in  which  he  was  held  by  the  belligerent  parties.  His  hospi- 
tality. Extract  from  the  Chevalier  Ramsay.  Of  the  spirit  of 
quietude  or  quietism,  which  was  ascribed  to  him.  Meditations  on 
the  infant  Jesus.  Of  his  forbearance  and  meekness  in  relation 
to  others.  His  views  on  religious  toleration.  Feelings  in  relation 
to  his  separation  from  his  friends.  His  correspondence  with  the 
duke  of  Burgundy.     His  death. 

As  the  personal  history  of  Fenelon  is  closely  connected 
with  that  of  Madame  Guyon,  and  as  he  may  be  regarded  as 
an  illustration  of  the  power  and  tendency  of  the  principles 
she  inculcated,  we  propose  to  occupy  a  few  pages  further 
with  some  incidents  of  his  life,  and  with  some  general  views 
of  his  character. 

At  an  early  period  Fenelon  had  devoted  himself  to  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  Christ.  After  he  was  appointed  arch- 
bishop of  Cambray,  he  had  but  one  object,  that  of  benefiting 
his  people.  This  was  particularly  the  case  after  he  was 
compelled  to  relinquish  the  instruction  of  the  grandchildren 
of  the  king,  and  was  confined  by  the  royal  order  to  his  own 
diocese.  We  do  not  mean  to  imply,  that  he  had  a  more 
benevolent  disposition  then,  but  he  had  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  exercise  it.  With  a  heart  filled  with  the  love 
of  God,  which  can  never  be  separated  from  the  love  of 


LIFE,    ETC.  293 

God's  creatures,  it  was  his  delight  to  ao  good  ;  and  especially 
in  the  religious  sense  of  the  terms. 

2.  Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings,  he  was  very 
diligent  in  visiting  all  parts  of  his  diocese.  He  preached  by 
turns  in  every  church  in  it ;  and  with  great  care  and  faith- 
fulness, examined,  instructed,  and  exhorted  both  priests  and 
people. 

In  his  preaching  he  was  affectionate  and  eloquent,  but 
still  very  plain  and  intelligible.  Excluding  from  his  ser- 
mons superfluous  ornaments  as  well  as  obscure  and  difficult 
reasonings,  he  might  be  said  to  preach  from  the  heart  rather 
than  from  the  head.  He  generally  preached  without  notes, 
but  not  without  premeditation  and  prayer.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom, before  he  preached,  to  spend  some  time  in  the  retire- 
ment of  his  closet ;  that  he  might  be  sure  that  his  own  heart 
was  filled  from  the  divine  fountain,  before  he  poured  it  forth 
upon  the  people.  One  great  topic  of  his  preaching  was  the 
doctrine  so  dear  to  him,  and  for  which  he  had  suffered  so 
much,  of  PURE  LOVE. 

3.  He  was  very  temperate  in  his  habits,  eating  and  sleep- 
ing but  little.  He  rose  early  ;  and  his  first  hours  were  de- 
voted to  prayer  and  meditation.  His  chief  amusement,  when 
he  found  it  necessary  to  relax  a  little  from  his  arduous  toils, 
was  that  of  walking  and  riding.  He  loved  rural  scenes,  and 
it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him  to  go  out  in  the  midst  of  them. 
"  The  country,"  he  says,  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  delights  me. 
In  the  midst  of  it,  I  find  God's  holy  peace."  Every  thing 
seemed  to  him  to  be  full  of  infinite  goodness ;  and  his  heart 
glowed  with  the  purest  happiness,  as  he  escaped  from  the 
business  and  cares  which  necessarily  occupied  so  much  of 
his  time,  into  the  air  and  the  fields,  into  the  flowers  and  the 
sunshine  of  the  great  Creator. 

But  in  a  world  like  this,  where  it  is  a  first  principle  of 
Christianity  that  we  should  forget  ourselves  and  our  own 
vol.  it.  25  * 


294  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

happiness  in  order  that  we  may  do  good  to  others,  he  felt  it 
a  duty  to  make  even  this  sublime  pleasure  subservient  to 
the  claims  of  benevolence.  In  these  occasional  excursions 
he  could  hardly  fail  to  meet  with  some  of  the  poor  peasants 
in  his  diocese ;  and  he  carefully  improved  these  opportuni- 
ties to  form  a  personal  acquaintance  with  them  and  their 
families,  and  to  counsel  and  console  them.  Sometimes  when 
he  met  them,  he  would  sit  down  with  them  upon  the  grass  ; 
and  inquiring  familiarly  about  the  state  of  their  affairs,  he 
gave  them  kind  and  suitable  advice  ;  —  but  above  all  things, 
he  affectionately  recommended  to  them  to  seek  an  interest 
in  the  Saviour,  and  to  lead  a  religious  life. 

He  went  into  their  cottages  to  speak  to  them  of  God,  and 
to  comfort  and  relieve  them  under  the  hardships  they  suf- 
fered. If  these  poor  people,  when  he  thus  visited  them, 
presented  him  with  any  refreshments  in  their  unpretending 
and  unpolished  manner,  he  pleased  them  much  by  seating 
himself  at  their  simple  table,  and  partaking  cheerfully  and 
thankfully  of  what  was  set  before  him.  He  showed  no  false 
delicacy  because  they  were  poor,  and  because  their  habita- 
tions, in  consequence  of  their  poverty,  exhibited  but  little 
of  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of  those  who  were  more 
wealthy.  In  the  fulness  of  his  benevolent  spirit,  which  was 
filled  with  the  love  of  Christ  and  of  all  for  whom  Christ  died, 
he  became  in  a  manner  one  of  them,  as  a  brother  among 
brothers,  or  as  a  father  among  his  children. 

4.  There  are  various  anecdotes  which  illustrate  his  con- 
descension and  benevolence.  In  one  of  the  rural  excursions 
to  which  we  have  referred,  he  met  with  a  peasant  who  was 
in  much  affliction.  Inquiring  the  cause  of  his  grief,  he  was 
informed  by  the  man  that  he  had  lost  his  cow.  Fenelon 
attempted  to  comfort  him,  and  gave  him  money  enough  to 
buy  another.  The  peasant  was  grateful  for  the  kindness  of 
the  archbishop,  but  still  he  was  very  sad.     The  reason  was. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  295 

although  the  money  given  him  would  buy  a  cow,  it  would 
not  buy  the  cow  he  had  lost,  —  to  which  he  seemed  very 
much  attached.  Pursuing  his  walk,  Fenelon  found,  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  place  of  his  interview  with 
the  peasant,  the  very  cow  which  was  the  object  of  so  much 
affliction.  The  sun  had  set,  and  the  night  was  dark ;  but  the 
good  archbishop,  like  the  good  shepherd  of  the  Scriptures, 
drove  her  back  himself  to  the  poor  man's  cottage. 

5.  The  revenues  which  he  received  as  archbishop  of  Cam- 
bray  were  very  considerable ;  but  he  had  learned  the  diffi- 
cult but  noble  art  of  being  poor  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  He 
kept  nothing  for  himself.  His  riches  were  in  making  others 
rich ;  his  happiness,  in  making  the  poor  and  suffering  happy. 
On  a  certain  time,  before  his  banishment,  when  he  was 
spending  a  part  of  the  year  at  Versailles  in  the  instruction 
of  the  young  princes,  the  news  came  that  a  fire  had  burned 
to  the  ground  the  archiepiscopal  palace  at  Cambray,  and 
consumed  all  his  books  and  writings.  His  friend,  the  Abbe 
de  Langeron,  seeing  Fenelon  conversing  with  a  number  of 
persons,  and  apparently  much  at  his  ease,  supposed  he  had 
not  heard  this  unpleasant  news,  and  began  with  some  for- 
mality and  caution  to  inform  him  of  it.  Fenelon,  perceiving 
the  solicitude  and  kindness  of  the  good  Abbe,  interrupted 
him  by  saying  that  he  was  acquainted  with  what  had  hap- 
pened; and  added  further,  although  the  loss  was  a  very 
great  one,  that  he  was  really  less  affected  in  the  destruction 
of  his  own  palace,  than  he  would  have  been  by  the  burning 
of  a  cottage  of  one  of  the  peasants. 

6.  So  elevated  and  diffusive  were  his  religious  principles, 
that  they  rendered  him  the  friend  of  all  mankind.  It  was 
not  necessary  for  him  to  stop  and  inquire  a  man's  creed  or 
nation,  as  a  preliminary  to  his  beneficence.  Occasions  were 
not  wanting  which  illustrated  his  remark.  The  war,  which 
raged  near  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century, 


296  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

between  France  and  Bavaria  on  the  one  side,  and  England, 
Holland,  and  Austria  on  the  other,  drew  near  to  the  city 
where  he  resided.  The  city  of  Cambray,  formerly  the  capital 
of  a  small  province  of  the  same  name  in  the  north  of  France, 
is  not  far  from  the  Netherlands,  which  has  sometimes  been 
denominated  the  battle-field  of  Europe.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  large  armies  met  in  its  vicinity, 
and  battles  were  fought  near  it.  At  this  trying  time,  not 
only  the  residence  which  Fenelon  occupied  as  archbishop  of 
the  diocese,  but  other  houses  beside,  hired  by  him  for  the 
purpose,  were  filled  with  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  with 
poor  people  driven  from  the  neighboring  villages,  as  they 
were  threatened  or  were  destroyed  by  the  war.  The  ex- 
pense which  he  thus  incurred,  absorbed  all  his  revenues ; 
but  he  had  no  inclination  to  spare  either  time,  money,  or 
personal  effort  in  these  acts  of  benevolence ;  acts  which  were 
shown  as  kindly  and  as  freely  to  the  enemies  of  his  country, 
who  were  taken  prisoners  in  the  war,  as  to  those  of  his  own 
nation. 

The  sight  of  the  wretched  condition  of  the  refugees  in 
his  palace  was  painful ;  many  were  suffering  from  the  want 
of  proper  clothing ;  others  were  in  agony  in  consequence 
of  their  wounds,  and  others  were  afflicted  with  distempers 
that  were  infectious  ;  but  nothing  abated  his  zeal.  He  ap- 
peared among  them  daily  with  the  kindness  of  a  parent ; 
dropping  words  of  instruction  and  consolation,  and  testifying 
by  his  tears  how  much  he  was  moved  with  compassion. 

7.  The  marked  respect  in  which  he  was  held,  was  not 
confined  to  the  French  army  alone.  He  was  held  in  equal 
veneration  by  the  enemy.  The  distinguished  commanders 
who  were  opposed  to  France,  the  duke  of  Marlborough, 
Prince  Eugene,  and  the  duke  of  Ormond,  embraced  every 
suitable  opportunity  of  showing  their  esteem ;  sending  de- 
tachments of  their  men  to  guard  his  meadows  and  his  corn ; 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  297 

and  causing  his  grain  to  be  transported  with  a  convoy  to 
Cambray,  lest  it  should  be  seized  and  carried  off  by  their 
own  foragers.  In  the  discharge  of  his  religious  duties,  he 
went  abroad  among  the  people  of  his  diocese,  without  regard 
to  the  hostile  armies  which  occupied  the  territory.  As  he 
went,  in  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  in  the  spirit  of  Him 
who  came  not  to  increase  human  suffering,  but  to  bring 
peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men,  he  had  faith  in  a 
divine  protection.  So  far  from  any  violence  being  offered 
to  him,  the  English  and  Austrian  commanders,  when  they 
heard  that  he  was  to  take  a  journey  in  that  part  of  the  dio- 
cese where  their  armies  were  situated,  sent  him  word  that 
he  had  no  need  of  a  French  escort,  and  that  they  would 
furnish  an  escort  themselves.  It  is  said,  that  even  the  hus- 
sars of  the  Imperial  troops  did  not  hesitate  to  do  him  this 
service.  So  true  it  is  that  men  who  live  in  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel  do,  by  the  very  force  of  their  virtue,  disarm  the  hos- 
tility of  nature. 

8.  Among  those  who  were  taken  prisoners  at  the  battle 
of  Denain  and  conducted  to  Cambray,  was  Count  Munich, 
afterwards  more  extensively  known  as  Marshal  Munich. 
Although  he  was  characterized  by  great  enterprise  and 
bravery,  and  had  an  almost  exclusive  taste  for  arms,  he  was 
deeply  affected  by  what  he  saw  of  the  peaceful  virtues  an<J 
the  truly  Christian  generosity  of  Fenelon.  He  was  then 
young,  and  appears  to  have  held  the  office  of  lieutenant- 
colonel.  He  was  afterwards  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
commanders  in  the  armies  of  Russia.  His  name  is  asso- 
ciated, in  the  history  of  war,  with  sanguinary  and  victorious 
campaigns  in  the  Crimea.  Eaised  to  the  highest  place  of 
worldly  honor  by  his  talents  and  courage,  he  suddenly  fell 
under  the  displeasure  of  the  empress  Elizabeth,  in  1741,  and 
was  banished  to  Siberia,  where  he  remained  an  exile  twenty 
years.     He  was  restored  by  Peter  the  Third.     But  in  all 


298  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

the  vicissitudes  of  his  life,  in  peace  and  war,  in  the  court 
and  in  the  camp,  disgraced  and  suffering  in  the  deserts  of 
Siberia,  or  free  and  honored  in  the  halls  of  princes,  he  de- 
lighted, to  the  very  close  of  his  life,  to  remember  the  happy- 
days  which  he  passed,  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  in  the  soci- 
ety of  Fenelon;  instructing  and  soothing,  as  it  were,  the 
agitations  of  his  own  wild  and  turbulent  spirit  by  recount- 
ing the  virtues  and  actions  which  he  had  witnessed  at  Cam- 
bray. 

9.  At  this  very  period  there  was  another  visitant  at  Cam- 
bray  of  a  very  different  character,  the  celebrated  Cardinal 
Quirini,  whose  whole  life,  as  remote  as  possible  from  the 
pursuits  of  war,  was  devoted  to  learned  researches  and  use- 
ful studies.  In  the  prosecution  of  literary  objects,  he  visited 
almost  all  parts  of  Europe,  and  became  acquainted  with  the 
most  distinguished  literary  men.  In  the  account  of  his  trav- 
els, which  he  wrote  in  Latin,  he  speaks  very  particularly  of 
his  interview  with  Fenelon. 

"  I  considered,"  he  says,  "  Cambray  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pal objects  of  my  travels  in  France.  I  will  not  even  hesi- 
tate to  confess,  that  it  was  towards  this  single  spot,  or  rather 
towards  the  celebrated  Fenelon,  who  resided  there,  that  I 
was  most  powerfully  attracted.  With  what  emotions  of 
tenderness  I  still  recall  the  gentle  and  affecting  familiarity 
with  which  that  great  man  deigned  to  discourse  with  me, 
and  even  sought  my  conversation  ;  though  his  palace  was 
then  crowded  with  French  generals  and  commanders-in- 
chief,  towards  whom  he  displayed  the  most  magnificent  and 
generous  hospitality.  I  have  still  fresh  in  my  recollection 
all  the  serious  and  important  subjects  which  were  the  topics 
of  our  discourse.  My  ear  caught  with  eagerness  every 
word  that  issued  from  his  lips.  The  letters  which  he  wrote 
me,  from  time  to  time,  are  still  before  me ;  letters  which 
are  an  evidence  alike  of  the  wisdom  of  his  principles  and 


UP   MADAME    GUYON.  299 

of  the  purity  of  his  heart.  I  preserve  them  among  my 
papers,  as  the  most  precious  treasure  which  I  have  in  the 
world." 

It  is  an  evidence  both  of  the  kindness  and  faithfulness  of 
Fenelon,  that  he  endeavors  in  these  very  letters  to  recall  the 
Cardinal  Quirini  from  a  too  eager  and  exclusive  pursuit  of 
worldly  knowledge,  to  that  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  which 
renews  and  purifies  the  soul. 

10.  Strangers  from  all  parts  of  Europe  came  to  see  him. 
Although  the  duties  of  hospitality  became  a  laborious  work 
to  him,  amid  the  multiplicity  and  urgency  of  his  other  em- 
ployments, he  fulfilled  them  with  the  greatest  attention,  and 
with  the  greatest  kindness  of  feeling.  It  was  pleasing  to 
see,  how  readily  he  suffered  himself  to  be  interrupted  in  his 
important  duties,  in  order  to  attend  to  any,  whatever  might 
be  their  condition  and  whatever  their  wants,  who  might  call 
upon  him.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  drop  his  eloquent  pen, 
with  which  he  conversed  with  all  Europe,  whenever  Provi- 
dence called  him  to  listen  to  the  imperfect  utterance  of  the 
most  ignorant  and  degraded  among  his  people.  And,  in 
doing  this,  he  acted  on  religious  principle.  He  would  rather 
suffer  the  greatest  personal  inconvenience,  than  injure  the 
feelings  of  a  fellow-man. 

11.  "  I  have  seen  him,"  says  the  Chevalier  Ramsay,  "  in  the 
course  of  a  single  day,  converse  with  the  great  and  speak 
their  language,  ever  maintaining  the  episcopal  dignity ;  after- 
wards discourse  with  the  simple  and  the  little,  like  a  good 
father  instructing  his  children.  This  sudden  transition  from 
one  extreme  to  the  other,  was  without  affectation  or  effort, 
like  one  who,  by  the  extensiveness  of  his  genius,  reaches  to 
all  the  most  opposite  distances.  I  have  often  observed  him 
at  such  conferences,  and  have  as  much  admired  the  evan- 
gelical condescension  by  which  he  became  all  things  to  all 
men,  as  the  sublimity  of  his  discourses.     While  he  watched 


300  LIFE    AND    Rl.ii..  j..  i  -     EXPERIENCE] 

over  his  Hock  with  a  daily  care,  he  prayed  in  the  deep  retire- 
ment of  internal  solitude.  The  many  things  which  were 
generally  admired  in  him,  were  nothing  in  comparison  of 
that  divine  life  by  which  he  walked  with  God  like  Enoch, 
and  was  unknown  to  men." 

12.  Fenelon,  in  the  language  of  those  who  knew  his  vir- 
tue, but  still  were  willing  to  say  something  to  his  discredit, 
was  denominated  a  quietist.  This  term  is  susceptible  of  a 
good  and  a  bad  meaning.  That  quietude  is  bad  which  is 
the  result  of  the  ignorant  and  unbelieving  pride  of  self;  but 
it  is  not  so  with  that  quietude  wrhich  is  the  result  of  an  intel- 
ligent and  believing  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God.  There 
is  certainly  great  grace  in  being  truly  and  religiously  quiet 
in  spirit.  It  is  a  remark  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  pagan 
philosophers,  that  man  can  never  be  truly  happy,  until  he 
arrives  at  such  an  inward  tranquillity  as  excludes  not  only 
unprofitable  actions,  but  even  useless  thoughts.  Heathenism 
had  light  enough  to  perceive  the  truth ;  but,  rendered  weak 
in  its  sins,  it  had  not  power  enough  to  realize  it.  It  is 
Christianity  alone  which  reveals  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
life.  It  is  Christianity,  realized  in  the  presence  and  opera- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  gives  that  divine  peace  which 
nature  perceives  to  be  necessary,  but  which  God  alone  can 
impart.  The  quietude  which  was  ascribed  to  Fenelon  was 
that  inward  rest  which  the  Saviour  calls  peace;  and  of 
which  it  is  declared  there  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked.  It  was 
that  state  of  mind  which  the  Saviour  not  only  denominates 
peace,  but  which  he  describes  as  my  peace,  in  other  words 
Christ's  peace,  "  the  peace  of  God  which  passes  understand- 
ing," that  supported  the  archbishop  of  Cambray,  in  the  trials 
he  endured,  and  in  the  duties  of  humanity  and  religion 
which  he  was  called  to  discharge. 

"  He  dismissed,  as  fast  as  they  arose,"  says  an  anonymous 
writer,  "  all  useless  ideas  and  disquieting  desires,  to  the  end 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  301 

that  he  might  preserve  his  soul  pure  and  in  peace ;  taken 
up  with  God,  detached  from  every  thing  not  divine.  This 
brought  him  to  such  a  simplicity  as  to  be  far  from  valuing 
himself  for  his  natural  talents,  accounting  all  but  dross,  that 
he  might  win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him."  * 

13.  He  loved  to  contemplate  Christ  in  his  childhood  and 
youth,  as  conveying  to  his  mind  a  more  distinct  idea  of  that 
meekness  and  simplicity  of  spirit  which  was  so  marked  a 
trait  in  the  Saviour's  character. 

Among  his  beautiful  religious  meditations  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing, which  shows  his  feelings  in  this  respect :  — 

"  I  adore  thee,  O  infant  Jesus !  naked,  weeping,  and  lying 
in  the  manger.  Thy  childhood  and  poverty  are  become  my 
delight.  Oh  that  I  could  be  thus  poor,  thus  a  child,  like 
thee!  O'  Eternal  Wisdom!  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a 
little  babe,  take  from  me  the  vanity  and  presumptuousness 
of  human  wisdom.  Make  me  a  child  with  thee.  Be  silent; 
ye  teachers  arid  sages  of  the  earth  !  I  wish  to  know  nothing 
but  to  be  resigned,  to  be  willing  to  suffer,  to  lose  and  forsake 
all,  to  be  all  faith.  The  Word  made  flesh  J  Now  silent, 
now  he  has  an  imperfect  utterance,  now  weeps  as  a  child. 
And  shall  I  set  up  for  being  wise  ?  Shall  I  take  a  compla- 
cency in  my  own  schemes  and  systems  ?  Shall  I  be  afraid, 
lest  the  world  should  not  have  an  opinion  high  enough  of  my 
capacity.  No,  no  ;  —  all  my  pleasure  shall  be  to  decrease, 
to  become  little  and  obscure,  to  live  in  silence,  to  bear  the 
reproach  of  Jesus  crucified,  and  to  add  thereto  the  helpless- 
ness and  imperfect  utterance  of  Jesus  a  child." 

14.  "To  die  to  all  his  own  abilities,"  says  the  writer  to 
whom  we  have  just  now  referred,  "  must  have  been  a  thing 

.more  painful  to  him  than  another.    He  understood  thorough- 

*  Anonymous,  but  supposed  to  be  Digby  Brooke,  the  author  of  the 
English  translation  of  the  Life  of  Madame  Guyon. 
VOL.  TT.  26 


302  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ly  the  principles  of  almost  all  the  liberal  sciences.  He  had 
studied  the  ancients  of  all  kinds,  poets,  orators,  and  philoso- 
phers. He  was  well  acquainted  both  with  their  faults  and 
with  their  beauties.  Yet  he  rejected  that  pompous  erudi- 
tion which  so  powerfully  tends  to  swell  the  mind  with  pride. 
He  thought  it  his  duty  to  renounce  all  the  false  riches  of  the 
mind,  and  to  be  wise  with  sobriety.  This  is  what  those 
learned  men  and  teachers,  who  are  always  contending  about 
frivolous  questions,  will  never  be  able  to  comprehend." 

15.  It  was  one  characteristic  of  this  remarkable  and 
deeply  pious  man,  that  he  bore  the  passions  and  faults  of 
others  with  the  greatest  equanimity.  This  is  an  unostenta- 
tious but  an  important  grace.  He  was  faithful,  without  ceas- 
ing to  be  patient.  Believing  that  the  providence  of  God 
attaches  to  times  as  well  as  to  things,  and  that  there  is  a 
time  for  reproof  as  well  as  for  every  thing  else,  a  time  which 
may  properly  be  denominated  God's  time,  he  waited  calmly 
for  the  proper  moment  of  speaking.  Thus  keeping  his 
own  spirit  in  harmony  with  God,  he  was  enabled  to  ad- 
minister reproof  and  to  utter  the  most  unpleasant  truths 
without  a  betrayal  of  himself,  and  without  giving  offence  to 
others. 

"  It  is  often,"  he  said,  "  our  own  imperfection  which  makes 
us  reprove  the  imperfections  of  others  ;  —  a  sharp-sighted 
self-love  of  our  own,  which  cannot  pardon  the  self-love  of 
others.  The  passions  of  other  men  seem  insupportable  to 
him  who  is  governed  by  his  own.  Divine  charity  makes 
great  allowances  for  the  weaknesses  of  others,  bears  with 
them,  and  treats  them  with  gentleness  and  condescension. 
It  is  never  over-hasty  in  its  proceeding.  The  less  we  have 
of  self-love,  the  more  easily  we  accommodate  ourselves  to 
the  imperfections  of  others,  in  order  to  cure  them  patiently, 
when  the  right  season  arrives  for  it.  Imperfect  virtue  is 
apt  to  be  sour,  severe,  and  implacable.     Perfect  virtue  is 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  303 

meek,  affable,  and  compassionate.  It  thinks  of  nothing  but 
doing  good,  bearing  others'  burdens.  It  is  this  principle  of 
disinterestedness  with  regard  to  ourselves,  and  of  compassion 
for  others,  which  is  the  true  bond  of  society." 

16.  It  was  a  natural  result  of  his  principles,  that  he  in- 
culcated and  practised  religious  toleration.  Without  being 
indifferent  to  the  principles  and  forms  of  religion,  he  had  a 
deep  conviction,  that  the  appropriate  weapon  of  religion,  in 
its  defence  and  in  its  extension,  is  that  of  love.  A  man's 
belief  is,  and  ought  to  be,  sacred.  We  may  try  to  correct  it 
by  kind  argument ;  but  in  every  act  beyond  that,  we  violate 
the  laws  of  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  claims  of  morals,  and 
act  without  authority.  Such  were  the  views  of  Fenelon ; 
which  he  inculcated  at  a  time,  and  under  circumstances, 
which  showed  the  firmness  of  his  purpose  as  well  as  the 
benevolence  of  his  heart. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  notice,  that,  when  he 
was  appointed  a  missionary  among  the  Protestants  of  Poitou, 
he  accepted  this  difficult  and  delicate  office,  only  on  the  con- 
dition that  the  king  should  remove  all  the  troop3,  and  all 
appearance  of  military  coercion,  from  those  places  to  which 
he  was  to  be  sent  in  the  exercise  of  a  ministry  of  peace  and 
love.  In  the  latter  period  of  his  life,  in  the  year  1709,  he 
was  visited  by  a  young  prince  at  the  episcopal  residence. 
In  the  conversations  which  passed  between  them,  the  arch- 
bishop recommended  to  him,  very  emphatically,  never  to 
compel  his  subjects  to  change  their  religion.  "  Liberty  of 
thought,"  said  he,  "  is  an  impregnable  fortress,  which  no 
human  power  can  force.  Violence  can  never  convince ;  it 
only  makes  hypocrites.  When  kings  take  it  upon  them  to 
direct  in  matters  of  religion,  instead  of  protecting  it,  they 
bring  it  into  bondage.  You  ought,  therefore,  to  grant  to  all 
a  legal  toleration  ;  not  as  approving  every  thing  indifferently, 
but  as  suffering  with  patience  what  God  suffers  ;  endeavor- 


304  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

ing  in  a  proper  manner  to  restore  such  as  are  misled,  but 
never  by  any  measures  but  those  of  gentle  and  benevolent 
persuasion." 

17.  Fenelon  had  many  friends  who  were  affectionately 
attached  to  him,  in  Versailles,  Paris,  and  other  parts  of 
France ;  but  after  the  time  of  his  banishment,  which  continued 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he  saw  them  but  very  sel- 
dom. Many  of  them  were  persons  of  eminent  piety.  A 
permanent  separation  from  such  men  was  a  source  of  afflic- 
tion ;  but  such  were  his  habits  of  mind,  which  saw  God  in 
all  things  and  all  things  in  God,  that  he  alleviated  his  sor- 
row by  communing  with  them  in  spirit. 

"  Let  us  all  dwell,"  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  in  our 
only  centre,  where  we  continually  meet,  and  are  all  one 
and  the  same  thing.  We  are  very  near,  though  we  see  not 
one  another ;  whereas  others,  who  even  live  in  the  same 
house,  yet  live  at  a  great  -  distance.  God  reunites  all,  and 
brings  together  the  remotest  points  of  distance  in  the  hearts 
that  are  united  to  him.  I  am  for  nothing  but  unity ;  that 
unity  which  binds  all  the  parts  to  the  centre.  That  which 
is  not  in  unity  is  in  separation ;  and  separation  implies  a 
plurality  of  interests,  self  in  each  too  much  fondled.  When 
self  is  destroyed,  the  soul  reunites  in  God ;  and  those  who 
are  united  in  God  are  not  far  from  each  other.  This  is  the 
consolation  which  I  have  in  your  absence,  and  which  enables 
me  to  bear  this  affliction  patiently,  however  long  it  may 
continue." 

18.  The  union  of  the  soul  in  God,  followed  by  the  union 
of  all  worldly  concerns  and  interests,  was  the  subject  of  fre- 
quent contemplation  and  remark.  "  Oh !  what  a  beautiful 
sight,"  he  said  frequently,  "  to  see  all  kinds  of  goods  in  com- 
mon, nobody  looking  on  his  own  knowledge,  virtues,  joys, 
riches,  as  his  peculiar  property !  It  is  thus,  that  the  saints 
in  heaven  possess  every  thing  in  God,  without  having  any 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  305 

thing  of  their  own.  It  is  the  flux  and  reflux  of  an  infinite 
ocean  of  good,  common  to  all,  which  satiates  their  desires, 
and  completes  their  happiness.  Perfectly  poor  in  them- 
selves, they  are  perfectly  rich  and  happy  in  God,  who  is  the 
true  source  of  riches.  If  this  poverty  of  spirit,  which,  in 
depriving  us  of  self,  fills  us  with  love,  prevailed  here  below 
as  it  should  do,  we  should  hear  no  more  those  cold  words  of 
mine  and  thine.  Being  one  in  the  abandonment  of  self  and 
one  in  harmony  with  God,  we  should  be  all  at  the  same 
time  rich  and  poor  in  unity." 

19.  After  Fenelon  left  Versailles,  he  never  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  his  beloved  pupil,  the  duke  of  Burgundy ; 
and  it  was  a  number  of  years  before  they  had  the  means  even 
of  corresponding  with  each  other  by  letter.  But  the  duke,  for 
whom  he  had  labored  so  earnestly  in  personal  efforts,  and 
for  whose  benefit  he  had  written  his  delightful  Fables,  his 
Dialogues,  and  the  great  and  popular  work  entitled  Telema- 
chus,  never  forgot  him.  And  Fenelon,  on  his  part,  never 
ceased  to  counsel  and  encourage. 

"  Offspring  of  Saint  Louis  ! "  he  says,  in  one  of  his  letters 
written  a  short  time  before  the  lamented  death  of  the  prince, 
"  be  like  him,  mild,  humane,  easy  of  access,  affable,  com- 
passionate, and  liberal.  Let  your  grandeur  never  hinder 
you  from  condescending  to  the  lowest  of  your  subjects,  — 
yet  in  such  a  manner  that  this  goodness  may  never  weaken 
your  authority,  nor  lessen  their  respect.  Suffer  not  your- 
self to  be  beset  by  insinuating  flatterers ;  but  value  the  pres- 
ence and  advice  of  men  of  virtuous  principles.  True  virtue 
is  often  modest  and  retired.  Princes  have  need  of  her,  and 
therefore  ought  to  seek  her  out.  Place  no  confidence  in  any 
but  those  who  have  the  courage  to  contradict  you  with  re- 
spect, #and  who  love  your  prosperity  and  reputation  better 
than  your  favor.  Make  yourself  to  be  loved  by  the  good, 
feared  by  the  bad,  and  esteemed  by  all.     Hasten  to  reform 

vol,  n.  26  * 


306  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

yourself,  that  you  may  labor  with  success  in  the  reformation 
of  others." 

20.  The  effect  of  the  correspondence  of  Fenelon  with  the 
duke  of  Burgundy  may  be  seen,  among  other  evidences 
which  he  gave,  from  the  import  of  the  following  letter :  — 

TO  THE  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CAMBRAY. 

"  My  dear  Archbishop, 

"  I  will  endeavor  to  make  use  of  the  advice  you  give 
me.  I  ask  an  interest  in  your  prayers,  that  God  will  give 
me  his  grace  so  to  do.  Desire  of  God  more  and  more,  that 
he  will  grant  me  the  love  of  himself  above  all  things  else ; 
and  that  I  may  love  my  friends  and  love  my  enemies  in 
him  arid  for  him.  In  the  situation  in  which  I  am  placed, 
I  am  obliged  to  listen  to  many  remarks,  and  sometimes  to 
those  which  are  unfavorable.  When  I  am  rebuked  for 
taking  a  course  which  I  know  to  be  a  right  one,  I  am  not 
disquieted  by  it.  When  I  am  made  to  see,  that  I  have  done 
wrong,  I  readily  blame  myself.  And  I  am  enabled  sincerely 
to  pardon  all,  and  to  pray  for  all,  who  wish  me  ill  or  who 
do  me  ill. 

"  I  do  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  I  have  faults ;  but  I  can 
also  add,  that  I  have  a  fixed  determination,  whatever  may 
be  my  failings,  to  give  myself  to  God.  Pray  to  him  without 
ceasing,  that  he  will  be  pleased  to  finish  in  me  what  he  has 
already  begun,  and  to  destroy  in  me  those  evils  which  proceed 
from  my  fallen  nature.  —  In  respect  to  yourself,  you  may  be 
assured  that  my  friendship  is  always  the  same." 

21.  Fenelon  died  in  1715,  at  the  age  of  65.  His  work 
was  accomplished.  It  was  found  after  his  death,  that  he 
was  without  property  and  without  debts.  United  with  Christ, 
he  had  no  fear.  As  he  had  the  spirit,  so  he  delighted'in  the 
language,  of  the  Saviour.  His  dying  words  were,  "  Thy 
will  be  done."     And  thus  he  met  God  in  peace. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  307 

There  is,  perhaps,  not  another  man  in  modern  times, 
whose  character  has  so  perfectly  harmonized  in  its  favor 
all  creeds,  nations,  and  parties.  His  religion  expanded  his 
heart  to  the  limits  of  the  world.  It  was  natural,  therefore, 
that  the  whole  human  race  should  love  his  memory.  In 
the  time  of  the  French  revolution,  when  the  chains  which 
had  been  fastened  by  the  tyranny  of  ages,  were  rent  asunder 
by  infuriated  men,  who,  in  freeing  themselves  from  outward 
tyranny,  forgot  to  free  themselves  from  the  domination  of 
their  own  passions,  the  ashes  of  the  good  and  great  of  other 
days,  in  the  forgetfulness  of  all  just  distinctions,  were  scat- 
tered by  them  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven.  But  they  wept 
over  and  spared  the  dust  of  Fenelon. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Of  the  influence  of  Madame  Guyon  upon  Fenelon.  Remarks  upon 
woman's  influence.  Madame  Guyon  transferred  from  the  prison 
of  Vincennes  to  that  of  Vaugirard.  Her  religious  efforts  there. 
Interference  of  the  archbishop  of  Paris.  Feelings  of  the  king 
towards  Madame  Guyon.  His  treatment  of  some  members  of  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Cyr.  He  removes  a  son  of  Madame  Guyon  from 
his  office  of  lieutenant  in  the  king's  guards.  Proceedings  of  Go- 
det  Marais,  bishop  of  Chartres.  Feelings  of  Madame  Guyon  in 
relation  to  Fenelon.  Visited  in  prison  by  the  archbishop  of  Paris, 
who  reads  to  her  a  letter  from  La  Combe.  Her  feelings.  A 
Poem. 

The  natural  traits  of  Fenelon  were  remarkable  in  them- 
selves, and  still  more  remarkable  in  the  beauty  of  their  com- 
bination. Religion  added  to  the  attractions  of  his  character. 
At  an  early  period  of  his  life,  he  was  a  religious  man  ;  — 
religious  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  terms,  and  with  a 
reference  to  the  common  standard. 

But  who  pointed  him  to  a  higher  inward  life  and  brighter 
hopes,  than  had  previously  come  within  the  scope  either  of 
his  knowledge  or  his  expectations  ?  And  when  he  had  set 
out  upon  this  new  way,  the  way  of  victory  because  it  was 
the  way  of  holiness,  who  aided  him,  at  every  step  of  his 
progress,  in  giving  clearness  to  his  vision  and  strength  to 
his  doubting  purposes  ?  Whose  example  was  it,  consecrated 
by  tears  and  illustrated  by  labors,  in  the  domestic  circle  and 
in  the  more  public  sphere,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  freedom 


LIFE,    ETC.  301) 

and  in  prison,  that  attracted  his  notice,  excited  his  holy  de- 
sires, and  strengthened  his  hopes  ? 

It  is  impossible,  with  any  suitable  regard  to  truth  and 
justice,  to  separate  the  influence  of  the  instructions,  of  the 
exhortations  and  prayers,  and  of  the  personal  life  and  exam- 
ple of  Madame  Guyon  from  the  renovated  nature,  the  benev- 
olent labors,  and  the  sublime  faith  of  Fenelon. 

2.  And  if  any  female  should  think  these  pages  worthy  of 
her  perusal,  let  her  gather  the  lesson  from  these  statements, 
which  truth  and  justice  compel  us  to  make,  that  woman's 
influence  does  not  terminate,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  with 
the  moulding  and  the  guidance  of  the  minds  of  children. 
"We  repeat  here,  what  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  inti- 
mate in  another  place,  that  her  task  is  not  finished,  when 
she  sends  abroad  those  whom  she  has  borne  and  nurtured 
in  her  bosom,  on  their  pilgrimage  of  action  and  duty  in  the 
wide  world.  Far  from  it.  Man  is  neither  safe  in  himself, 
nor  profitable  to  others,  when  he  lives  dissociated  from  that 
benign  influence  which  is  to  be  found  in  woman's  presence 
and  character;  —  an  influence  which  is  needed  in  the  projects 
and  toils  of  mature  life,  in  the  temptations  and  trials  to  which 
that  period  is  especially  exposed,  and  in  the  weakness  and 
sufferings  of  age,  hardly  less  than  in  childhood  and  youth. 

But  it  is  not  woman,  gay,  frivolous,  and  unbelieving,  it  is 
not  woman  separated  from  those  divine  teachings  which 
make  all  hearts  wise,  that  can  lay  claim  to  the  exercise  of 
such  an  influence.  But  when  she  adds  to  the  traits  of  sym- 
pathy, forbearance,  and  warm  affection,  which  characterize 
her,  the  strength  and  wisdom  of  a  well-cultivated  intellect, 
and  the  still  higher  attributes  of  religious  faith  and  holy 
love,  it  is  not  easy  to  limit  the  good  she  may  do,  in  all  situa- 
tions and  in  all  periods  of  life. 

3.  To  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  Fenelon  bore  the  most 
decided  testimony  to  the  virtues  of  Madame  Guyon ;  while 


310  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

his  own  personal  history  and  doctrines  were  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  the  influence  she  had  exerted.  When  the  contro- 
versy between  Fenelon  and  Bossuet  commenced,  Madame 
Guyon  was  a  prisoner  in  the  castle  of  Vincennes.  And,  as 
we  here  complete  our  narrative  so  far  as  it  has  relation  to 
Fenelon,  we  naturally  return  to  her  again,  to  terminate,  in  a 
few  pages  more,  the  story  of  her  remarkable  life. 

At  this  time,  as  well  as  at  all  previous  times,  from  the 
period  in  which  she  gave  herself  wholly  to  God,  she  was 
calm  and  patient.  The  walls  which  enclosed  her  had  no 
terrors  to  a  heart  that  recognized  the  presence  of  God  as 
distinctly  in  sorrow  as  in  joy.  Not  that  her  feeble  constitu- 
tion did  not  suffer,  or  that  she  did  not  feel  deeply  her  separ- 
ation from  her  friends,  but  she  had  inward  supports,  which 
enabled  her  to  rise  above  such  sufferings ;  and  with  Paul 
and  Silas  she  sang  songs  in  prison. 

4.  Madame  Guyon  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Vin- 
cennes on  the  31st  of  December,  1695.  She  remained  in 
this  prison  about  nine  months.  Her  imprisonment  seems  to 
have  been  severe.  She  was  allowed  the  company  of  the 
pious  maid-servant  who  had  so  long  attended  her,  and  who 
was  her  daughter  in  the  gospel ;  but  she  was  not  permitted, 
except  under  great  restrictions,  to  see  her  relatives  and 
other  friends,  or  to  correspond  with  them.  She  wrote  many 
of  her  poems  here,  and  added  some  passages  to  her  auto- 
biography. Whether  it  was  because  her  physical  system 
would  not  bear  such  close  and  long-continued  confinement, 
or  whether  those  who  were  the  principal  agents  in  restrain- 
ing her,  were  touched  with  some  degree  of  pity,  we  do  not 
know.  We  know  the  fact,  however,  that  after  the  expira- 
tion of  nearly  a  year,  she  was  removed  from  Vincennes,  and 
imprisoned  at  Vaugirard,  a  village  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  Paris.  Some  circumstances  lead  to  the  conclu 
sion,  that  she  went  to  her  new  place  of  imprisonment  on  the 


OF    MADAME  GUYON.  3ll 

28th  of  August,  1696.  She  did  not  go  before;  and  might 
not  have  gone  until  a  short  time  after.  Her  pious  maid- 
servant, who  had  been  a  great  consolation  to  her,  was  de- 
tained for  a  longer  period  at  Vincennes. 

5.  At  the  prison  of  Vaugirard,  from  which  she  was 
subsequently  transferred  to  the  Bastille,  she  remained  till 
September,  1698,  a  little  more  than  two  years.  Her  prison 
at  Vaugirard  seems  to  have  been  a  place  of  confinement 
connected  with  a  monastery  at  that  village.  It  was  under- 
stood by  her,  when  she  went  there,  that  she  would  have  a 
little  more  liberty  than  was  allowed  her  at  Vincennes.  And 
with  this  understanding,  her  strong  desire  to  benefit  souls 
returned.  She  saw  her  friends  more  frequently  than  she 
had  recently  done ;  she  corresponded  with  them,  and  en- 
deavored to  inspire  the  true  life  of  faith  in  the  sisters  of 
the  monastery,  whenever  she  had  opportunity  to  speak  to 
them.  There  was  every  appearance  that  the  same  spiritual 
results  would  follow  her  labors  here  as  elsewhere. 

6.  The  archbishop  of  Paris,  at  whose  suggestion  and 
request  she  had  been  transferred  to  Vaugirard,  became 
alarmed.  He  knew  the  feelings  of  the  king;  and  that  it 
was  indispensable,  if  she  continued  to  remain  there,  that 
these  things  should  stop.  Accordingly  she  was  reduced  to 
the  painful  necessity  of  signing  a  paper,  in  which  she  agreed 
expressly  to  cease  from  such  labors.  The  paper  is  dated 
the  9th  of  October,  1696.  In  this  paper  she  promises  to 
place  herself,  in  the  particulars  specified,  under  the  watch 
and  direction  of  the  curate  of  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpitius ; 
and,  without  his  express  permission,  to  receive  no  visits,  hold 
no  conversations,  and  write  no  letters. 

To  one  who  had  the  feelings  of  Madame  Guyon,  whose 
life  it  was  to  do  good,  such  a  prohibition  must  have  been 
exceedingly  painful.  But,  as  she  was  entirely  in  the  power 
of  those  who  thought  it  proper  to  impose  these  restraints, 


312  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

she  could  not  well  do  otherwise  than  submit  to  them.  Any 
other  course  would  have  merely  resulted  in  subjecting  her 
again  to  the  severer  imprisonment  of  Vincennes,  without 
giving  her  any  greater  religious  privilege.  Her  only  re- 
source now  was  prayer. 

7.  This  state  of  things  will  be  the  better  understood,  when 
we  keep  in  mind  the  feelings  of  the  king.  It  is  remarkable, 
that  a  man  whose  mind  was  occupied  with  plans  of  vast  extent, 
such  as  perhaps  no  French  monarch  before  him  had  enter- 
tained, should  enter  into  a  contest,  which  may  well  be  called  a 
personal  contest,  with  an  unprotected  woman.    But  so  it  was. 

After  the  remarkable  attention  to  religion  in  the  Female 
Seminary  of  St.  Cyr,  already  mentioned  in  another  place, 
which  was  attributed  to  the  influence  of  Madame  Guyon, 
and  which  was  supposed  to  be  conducted  on  principles  allied 
to  those  of  Protestantism,  Louis,  who  was  greatly  offended, 
not  only  insisted  on  the  exclusion  of  Madame  Guyon,  but 
came  to  St.  Cyr  personally,  instituted  an  examination  into 
the  state  of  things  himself,  and  removed  from  the  seminary 
three  of  the  most  pious  ladies  connected  with  it.  The  only 
reason  assigned  was  their  sympathy  with  the  new  doctrine 
of  an  inward  and  purified  life  sustained  by  faith.  So  that, 
like  Fenelon,  she  was  obliged  to  suffer,  not  only  in  her  own 
person,  but  in  the  person  of  her  friends  also. 

8.  For  this  treatment  of  the  ladies  of  St.  Cyr,  the  king 
might  perhaps  have  alleged  a  reason  apparently  satisfactory, 
founded  in  his  zeal  for  the  church  and  his  opposition  to  all 
forms  of  heresy.  But  such  a  reason  could  not  well  be 
alleged  for  his  treatment  of  a  son  of  Madame  Guyon.  Her 
second  son,  a  young  man  of  promise,  had  been  appointed 
a  year  or  two  previous  a  lieutenant  in  the  king's  guards. 
Nothing  was  alleged  against  his  character  or  conduct ;  but 
such  was  the  king's  hostility  to  Madame  Guyon,  and  his  de- 
termination to  crush  her  the  more  effectually  by  crushing  all 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  313 

who  were  connected  with  her,  that  he  unceremoniously  re- 
moved her  son  from  the  public  service. 

9.  The  zeal  of  the  king,  when  it  was  fully  understood 
what  his  views  and  wishes  were,  was  seconded  by  the  prompt 
and  effective  cooperation  of  a  number  of  the  bishops.  This  was 
particularly  the  case  with  Godet  Marais,  bishop  of  Chartres, 
within  the  limits  of  whose  diocese  St.  Cyr  was  situated.  As 
the  alleged  heresy  had  made  its  appearance  in  a  seminary 
for  whose  religious  character  and  interests  he  felt  especially 
responsible,  he  issued,  as  the  head  and  spiritual  father  of  his 
diocese,  an  ecclesiastical  ordinance,  in  which  he  condemned 
the  writings  of  Madame  Guyon,  as  false,  rash,  impious, 
heretical,  and  tending  to  renew  the  errors  of  Luther  and 
Calvin, 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  instituted  personally  a  minute 
examination  of  all  the  rooms  and  private  apartments  of  the 
seminary  of  St.  Cyr,  and  took  away  all  the  writings  of 
Madame  Guyon  which  he  found  there  ;  and  among  other 
things  some  manuscripts  and  letters  of  Fenelon.  Madame 
Maisonfort,  a  pious  and  highly  educated  lady,  who  had  the 
immediate  charge  of  the  seminary,  remonstrated  against  such 
violent  and  unjust  proceedings,  but  without  effect.* 

10.  These  transactions,  and  others  like  them,  took  place, 
at  different  times  and  under  different  circumstances,  from 
1695  to  1698.  They  added  to  the  sorrows  of  Madame 
Guyon's  imprisonment ;  but  did  not  lead  her  to  doubt  for  a 
moment  of  the  goodness  and  truth  of  God.  Both  at  Vin- 
cennes  and  at  Vaugirard,  she  kept  herself  informed,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  of  the  progress  of  events.  But  there 
was  nothing  which  touched  her  feelings  so  deeply  as  the 
trials  of  Fenelon.      She  had  been  the  instrument,  in  the 

*  Relation  de  l'Origine.  du  Progres,  et  de  la  Condemnation  du  Quie't- 
isme,  p.  155 — 7 

VOL.  II.  27 


314  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

hands  of  Providence,  of  bringing  to  his  notice  the  great  doc- 
trine of  present  and  entire  holiness  ;  —  a  doctrine  realized 
in  the  form  of  pure  or  perfect  love,  and  resting  upon  faith 
as  its  basis.  "With  the  greatest  earnestness  and  persever- 
ance, she  had  watched  for  him  and  prayed  for  him  ;  had 
warned  and  entreated  him.  She  had  the  happiness  of  see- 
ing her  labors  and  prayers  answered.  God,  in  the  person 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  had  descended  and  taken  possession  of 
the  mind  so  dear  to  her ;  —  so  that  he  had  become  one  with 
God,  and  in  God  had  become  one  with  herself.  Appre- 
ciating also  his  great  learning,  his  powers  of  reasoning  and 
imagination,  and  his  cultivated  taste,  she  naturally  indulged 
the  hope,  that  he  might  illustrate  and  successfully  propagate 
those  religious  views  which,  in  common  with  some  of  the 
most  devoted  persons  in  all  ages  of  the  church,  she  regarded 
so  important. 

But  darkness  had  gathered  upon  the  prospect,  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  so  cheering.  "When  the  secular 
arm  had  united  with  the  religious,  and  kings  were  in  alliance 
with  bishops,  there  seemed  but  little  hope.  "When  she 
thought  of  these  things,  as  she  sat  alone  in  her  solitary  cell, 
tears  sometimes  filled  that  bright  eye  which  the  lapse  of 
half  a  century  had  not  yet  made  dim. 

11.  It  was  under  these  circumstances,  when  she  had  been 
at  Vaugirard  nearly  two  years,  the  doors  of  her  prison  sud- 
denly opened.  Her  old  acquaintance,  Monsieur  de  Noailles, 
archbishop  of  Paris,  accompanied  by  Monsieur  Lachetardie, 
the  curate  of  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpitius,  presented  himself 
before  her.  "With  a  seriousness  of  air,  which  seemed  to  him 
to  be  warranted  by  the  occasion,  the  archbishop  informed 
her  of  the  reasons  of  his  coming.  He  held  in  his  hand  a 
letter,  and  read  it.  It  purported  to  be  from  Father  La 
Combe,  addressed  to  Madame  Guyon  ;  in  which  La  Combe, 
without  naming  them,  referred  distinctly  to   irregularities 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  315 

into  which  they  had  both  fallen,  and  exhorted  her  to  repent. 
The  letter  was  no  sooner  read,  than  the  archbishop  and  the 
curate,  unfavorably  impressed  by  insinuations  which  seemed 
to  imply  guilt,  conjured  her,  in  the  most  earnest  and  solemn 
manner,  to  do  homage  to  truth,  and  to  merit  forgiveness  by 
a  sincere  confession  of  her  faults. 

But,  worn  down  as  she  was  by  the  sorrows  of  her  impris- 
onment, her  offended  innocence  gave  her  strength  to  reply. 
She  said,  however,  but  a  few  words.  And  it  was  simply 
this.  The  letter  which  had  been  read  to  her,  which  she 
was  not  permitted  to  see,  was  either  a  forgery ;  or  Father 
La  Combe,  worn  out  by  the  severity  of  his  long  imprison- 
ment, had  entirely  lost  his  powers  of  perception  and  memory, 
and  had  written  it,  without  knowing  what  he  wrote,  at  the 
instigation  of  another.  Further  than  this,  she  did  not  think 
it  her  duty  to  notice  this  accusation.  Her  perfect  self- 
possession,  her  serious  and  unaffected  air  of  innocence,  the 
conviction  which  suddenly  flashed  upon  their  own  minds, 
that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  destroy  the  most  devoted 
and  virtuous  of  women  by  the  foulest  of  means,  compelled 
them  to  leave  her  prison  with  a  shame  to  themselves,  hardly 
less  than  the  sorrow  which  they  brought  to  her. 

12.  The  secret  history  of  this  atrocious  movement  is 
not  well  known.  The  long  banishment  and  imprisonments 
which  La  Combe  had  suffered,  as  an  advocate  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Madame  Guyon,  had  affected  both  his  mental  and 
physical  system.  So  obviously  was  this  the  case,  that  those 
who  had  the  charge  of  him  thought  it  necessary  to  transfer 
him  from  the  place  of  his  imprisonment,  in  a  distant  part  of 
France,  to  the  public  hospital  for  sick  and  lunatic  persons 
established  in  the  village  of  Charenton,  a  few  miles  from 
Paris.  On  his  way  there,  he  was  lodged  a  few  days  in  the 
castle  of  Vincennes;  where  the  paper  to  which  we  have 
referred   was    prepared,  and   his   signature   was   obtained. 


316  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  Charenton,  he  died ;  but  it  was 
satisfactorily  ascertained,  that  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
for  some  time  before,  he  had  not  sufficient  power  of  percep- 
tion and  reasoning  to  know  what  he  did,  and  to  render  him 
accountable  for  his  acts.  These  circumstances  were  not 
known  to  the  archbishop  of  Paris,  when  the  paper,  which  he 
was  requested  to  convey  to  Madame  Guyon,  was  put  into 
his  hands. 

13.  The  historians  of  the  life  of  Fenelon  agree  in  assert- 
ing, that  this  ungenerous  and  wicked  attempt  was  aimed  as 
much  and  perhaps  still  more  at  Fenelon,  than  at  Madame 
Guyon.  The  enemies  of  Fenelon  were  astonished  at  the 
powers  of  argument  and  of  eloquence  which  he  displayed  in 
his  controversy  with  Bossuet.  They  saw  themselves  on  the 
point  of  being  defeated ;  and,  as  Fenelon  never  denied  his 
acquaintance  with  Madame  Guyon  and  his  sincere  respect 
and  friendship  for  her,  they  seemed  to  have  but  one  way  left 
to  them,  that  of  destroying  his  reputation  and  throwing  doubt 
upon  his  morals,  by  first  destroying  hers.  If  there  had  been 
any  thing  wrong  between  Madame  Guyon  and  La  Combe, 
"  it  was  expected,"  says  Butler,  "  that  the  ascertainment  of 
the  fact  would  indirectly  operate  to  the  detriment  of  Fene- 
lon, by  exposing  his  connection  with  her  to  a  like  suspicion." 
The  attempt  did  not  succeed  ;  but  originating  in  the  deepest 
depravity,  and  aimed  as  she  knew  it  to  be  at  Fenelon  as 
well  as  herself,  it  could  not  fail  to  inflict  a  deep  wound  upon 
her  already  afflicted  spirit. 

14.  Her  poems,  the  greater  part  of  which  were  written 
in  her  imprisonments,  have  frequent  allusions  to  the  trials 
which  she  was  thus  called  to  endure,  and  to  the  faith  which 
sustained  her.  The  following  stanzas,  without  being  a  trans- 
lation of  any  one  poem,  embody  sentiments  which  are  found 
in  many :  — 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  317 


THE    LIGHT   ABOVE    US. 


There  is  a  light  in  yonder  skies, 
A  light  unseen  by  outward  eyes ;  — 
But  clear  and  bright  to  inward  sense, 
It  shines,  the  star  of  Providence. 

The  radiance  of  the  central  throne, 
It  comes  from  God,  and  God  alone  ;  — 
The  ray  that  never  yet  grew  pale, 
The  star  that  "  shines  within  the  veil.'* 

And  faith,  uncheck'd  by  earthly  fears, 
Shall  lift  its  eye,  though  filPd  with  tears, 
And  while  around  'tis  dark  as  night, 
Untired,  shall  mark  that  heavenly  light. 

In  vain  they  smite  me.     Men  but  do 
What  God  permits  with  different  view  ;- 
To  outward  sight  they  wield  the  rod, 
But  faith  proclaims  it  all  of  God. 

Unmoved,  then,  let  me  keep  my  way ; 
Supported  by  that  cheering  ray 
Which,  shining  distant,  renders  clear 
The  clouds  and  darkness  thronging  near. 


vol.  ii.  27  * 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

1698.  Transferred  from  Vaugirard  to  the  Bastille.  Some  account 
of  the  Bastille.  Extract  from  a  letter  of  Madame  Guy  on.  Man 
of  the  iron  mask.  Madame  Guyon's  maid-servant  imprisoned 
in  the  Bastille.  Her  personal  history.  Her  religious  character. 
Her  letters.  Her  death.  Situation  of  Madame  Guyon.  The 
religious  support  which  she  experienced. 

The  failure  of  the  attempt  to  ruin  the  character  of  Ma- 
dame Guyon,  and  in  her  ruin  to  involve  that  of  Fenelon, 
seems  to  have  exasperated  her  enemies  more  and  more. 
They  showed  their  dissatisfaction  by  obtaining  an  order  from 
the  king,  which  required  her  to  be  transferred  from  her 
prison  at  Vaugirard  to  one  of  the  towers  of  the  Bastille. 
She  became  a  prisoner  in  that  abode  of  wretchedness  in 
September,  1698. 

2.  The  prison  of  the  Bastille,  in  which  Madame  Guyon 
was  now  incarcerated,  has  become  historical.  It  has  been 
demolished,  it  is  true ;  but,  while  an  interest  in  the  history 
of  the  human  race  remains,  it  will  not  cease  to  be  remem- 
bered. The  Bastille,  the  erection  of  which  began  in  the 
year  1370,  was  composed  of  high  and  large  towers,  united 
together  by  thick  walls  enclosing  two  large  courts  which 
were  separated  from  each  other  by  other  walls  intervening; 
the  whole  being  enclosed  by  a  deep  and  wide  ditch.  At 
the  base  of  all  the  towers  were  dungeons.      Each  tower, 


P.  319 


GROriVD   PLATST   OF   THE    BASTILLE 


A.  Avenue  from  St.  Anthony's  Street  —  B.  Entrance ,  and  first  drawbridge. — 
C.  The  Governor's  house— D.  First  court.— E.  Avenue  leading  to  the  gate  of 
the  fortress.— F.  Drawbridge  and  gates  of  the  fortress.—  G.  Guard- houses. — 
H.  The  great  court  within  the  towers. —  I.  Staircase  leading  to  the  Council 
Chamber.—  K.  C  oimcil  Chamber.—  L.  Court  duPuits,  or  Well  Court— .M  .  Way 
to  the  garden.— X.  Steps  loading  into  the  garden—  0.  C.ardenr-  P.  The  moal 
oftbe  fortress.—  ^.  Passage  to  the  Arsenal  garden—  B.  A.  Wooden  road  round 
the  walls  for  the  night  patrole . —  1 .  Towe  rdu  Puils  -  2.  Tower  de  la  Line  rte  — 
3.   Tower  de  labortaudiere.—  4  Towerde  laBaziniere.—  o.  Towerde  la  Comic 

(>.  Tower  du  Tresor.- 7.    Tower  de  la  Chapelle .—  8.  To wer'du. Coin. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  319 

eighty  feet  in  height  above  the  dungeon,  consisted  of  four 
stories.  The  dungeons  were  below  the  level  of  the  ground  ; 
some  of  them  admitted  a  little  light ;  others  were  perfectly 
dark.  There  was  no  stove  or  fire-place  in  any  of  them.  It 
was  in  these  dreadful  abodes,  that  the  two  princes  of  Armag- 
nac  were  immured  by  the  orders  of  Louis  Eleventh ;  one  of 
whom,  overcome  by  the  weight  of  wretchedness  and  despair, 
lost  his  reason ;  the  other,  set  at  liberty  upon  a  change  of 
the  government,  published  an  account  of  his  sufferings. 

Above  the  dungeons  rose  successively  four  apartments, 
each  occupying  a  single  story.  These  apartments,  all  of 
which  were  prisons,  were  in  the  form  of  irregular  polygons ; 
eighteen  feet  across  the  floor  and  eighteen  feet  high ;  ex- 
cepting the  apartment  of  the  upper  story,  which  was  a  little 
smaller.  The  walls  were  twelve  feet  thick  at  the  highest 
part  of  the  tower,  and  they  increased  in  thickness  as  they  ap- 
proached the  bottom.  The  doors  of  the  prisons  in  the  towers 
were  of  oak  and  double ;  each  three  inches  in  thickness. 
Each  of  the  prisons  above  the  dungeon  had  one  window, 
which  was  secured,  on  the  outside,  by  an  iron  grate  of  pro- 
digious strength.  The  chimneys  also  were  secured  by  iron 
grates,  crossing  the  vent  at  proper  distances.  The  floors 
were  laid  with  stone  or  tiles. 

3.  Each  tower  had  its  name,  and  each  apartment  had  its 
number ;  so  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  say  who  the  pris- 
oners were  when  orders  were  given  in  respect  to  them,  or 
when  they  happened  to  be  the  subjects  of  conversation; 
but  only  to  mention  them  in  the  language  of  the  place,  as 
No.  One,  in  the  tower  du  Tresor,  No.  Two,  in  the  tower 
de  la  Comte,  and  so  on.  Most  of  the  apartments  had  the 
same  kind  of  furniture,  both  as  to  the  number  of  articles  and 
their  quality.  It  usually  consisted  of  a  bed,  a  table,  a  chair, 
a  basin,  and  a  large  earthen  pitcher  for  holding  water,  a 
brass  candlestick,  a  broom,  and  a  tinder-box. 


320  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

4.  When  the  prisoners  entered  these  dreadful  abodes, 
their  names  were  entered  in  a  register,  with  the  dates  of 
their  arrival,  and  with  the  specification  of  the  towers  and 
the  numbers  of  the  towers,  to  which  they  were  assigned. 
They  were  then  subjected  to  a  strict  search ;  and  every 
thing  was  taken  from  them,  except  such  clothing  as  was 
absolutely  necessary.  The  large  and  stony  apartments,  in 
which  they  were  enclosed,  if  they  were  so  much  favored  as 
to  escape  an  incarceration  in  the  dungeons,  were  exceeding- 
ly cold  in  winter ;  and,  as  they  were  not  capable  of  ventila- 
tion, the  prisoners  suffered  no  less  from  the  unpleasant  heats 
of  summer  ;  a  grievance  which  was  increased  by  the  steams 
issuing  from  the  water  that  putrified  in  the  ditch  below. 
Iron  cages,  and  other  instruments  of  torture,  were  kept  in 
reserve  for  those  who  were  refractory. 

5.  It  was  in  one  of  these  abodes  of  sorrow  that  Madame 
Guyon  was  shut  up.  Four  years  she  remained  there  ;  and, 
so  far  as  any  thing  appears  on  the  subject,  in  entire  solitary 
confinement.  It  was  thought  necessary,  by  those  who  knew 
her  influence  and  thought  it  unfavorable,  that  twelve  feet  of 
thick  wall,  built  up  on  every  side,  should  guard  her  against 
making  any  further  exertions  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  Shut 
out  from  the  world,  from  her  friends,  from  the  pleasant  light 
of  the  sun,  she  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  bow  in  the  silence 
and  acquiescence  of  religious  trust.  Deprived  of  the  privi- 
lege of  seeing  her  friends  personally,  she  was  not  even 
allowed  to  write  to  them.  But  the  evidence  of  her  whole 
life  shows  what  her  feelings  must  have  been ;  and  that  her 
faith  did  not  cease  to  be  triumphant,  even  in  this  aggravated 
trial.  In  one  of  her  letters,  written  just  before  her  removal 
to  the  Bastille  and  in  anticipation  of  her  imprisonment  there, 
which  she  naturally  regarded  as  a  precursor  of  still  harsher 
treatment,  she  says  :  —  "I  feel  no  anxiety  in  view  of  what 
my  enemies  will  do  to  me.     I  have  no  fear  of  any  thing  but 


OP   MADAME    GUTON.  321 

of  being  left  to  myself.  So  long  as  God  is  with  me,  neither 
imprisonment  nor  death  will  have  any  terrors.  Fear  not. 
If  they  should  proceed  to  extremities,  and  should  put  me  to 
death,  Come  and  see  me  die.  Do  as  Mary  Magdalen  did, 
who  never  left  Him  that  taught  her  the  science  of  pure 

LOVE." 

6.  In  noticing  the  date  of  Madame  Guyon's  imprison- 
ment, I  could  not  help  being  reminded,  that  but  a  few  feet 
from  her,  perhaps  in  the  next  dungeon,  was  the  celebrated 
prisoner  who  is  known  in  history  as  the  Man  of  the  Iron 
Mask.  A  very  few  persons  knew  who  he  was.  To  them 
the  knowledge  was  limited ;  and  the  secret  has  died  with 
them.  The  common  supposition  is,  that  he  was  a  twin 
brother  of  Louis  Fourteenth ;  and  that,  in  order  to  prevent 
his  putting  forth  pretensions  and  claims  to  the  throne,  he 
was  shut  out  from  all  intercourse  with  men,  and  even  from 
all  knowledge  of  himself.  For  the  purpose  of  entire  con- 
cealment he  wore  a  mask,  of  which  the  lower  part  had  steel 
springs,  contrived  so  that  he  could  eat  without  taking  it  off. 

An  old  physician  of  the  Bastille,  who  had  often  attended 
this  remarkable  man  in  his  seasons  of  ill  health,  declared 
that  he  had  never  been  allowed  to  see  his  face,  though  he 
had  often  examined  his  tongue  and  other  parts  of  his  person. 
When  Madame  Guyon  was  shut  up  in  the  Bastille,  the  man 
of  the  iron  mask,  though  born  to  the  inheritance  of  all  the 
joys  and  honors  which  earth  can  give,  had  been  a  solitary 
prisoner  thirty-seven  years.  Probably  he  did  not  know  his 
own  history ;  he  had  scarcely  been  allowed  to  see  any  hu- 
man being  from  infancy ;  he  lived  in  the  most  cruel  exclu- 
sion from  all  that  makes  life  desirable,  shut  out  from  nature, 
from  knowledge,  and  from  man. 

7.  The  question  naturally  arises,  "Was  he  excluded  from 
religious  knowledge,  as  well  as  from  a  knowledge  of  almost 
every  thing  else  ?    Had  he  the  consolations  of  religion  ?   Did 


322  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

he  know  of  that  peaceful  home,  where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest  ?  No  one 
can  tell.  But  we  know  this  :  —  if  the  woman  of  faith  and 
prayer,  who  was  shut  up  within  the  same  massive  walls,  had 
known  his  unparalleled  situation,  he  would  have  had  all  that 
her  purified  and  believing  spirit  could  have  given  of  warmest 
sympathy  and  of  earnest  supplication.  As  it  was,  without 
knowing  who  were  the  broken  hearts  around  her,  she  never 
ceased  to  pray  for  the  prisoner. 

8.  Madame  Guyon  was  imprisoned  in  the  Bastille  in 
1698.  Afterwards,  but  still  nearly  at  the  same  time,  her 
maid-servant,  who  remained  at  Vincennes  after  she  was 
transferred  to  Vaugirard,  was  also  removed  to  the  Bastille. 
Of  this  pious  and  devoted  woman,  to  whom  frequent  refer- 
ence is  made  in  the  writings  and  history  of  the  subject  of 
this  memoir,  I  propose  to  say  a  few  words  in  the  remaining 
part  of  this  chapter. 

Madame  Guyon  became  acquainted  with  her  at  Paris,  at 
an  early  period  of  her  widowhood.  Laboring  without  cessa- 
tion, wherever  there  was  opportunity,  she  was  the  instru- 
ment, in  the  hands  of  God,  of  leading  her,  then  a  young  girl, 
to  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  And  seeing  in  her  the  traits  of 
good  judgment  and  firmness  of  purpose,  she  employed  her 
as  a  domestic  in  her  family. 

9.  When  she  left  Paris  *  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting 
her  labors  in  the  distant  parts  of  France  and  in  Savoy,  she 
took  this  maid-servant  with  her.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  degree 
to  which  she  secured  the  confidence  of  her  mistress,  that 
Madame  Guyon  entrusted  to  her  special  and  almost  exclu- 
sive care  her  surviving  daughter,  Marie  Jeanne  Guyon  ;  — 
who  became  afterwards,  by  marriage,  the  countess  of  Vaux.* 

*  Marie  Jeanne  Guyon,  second  daughter  of  Madame  Guyon,  was  first 
married  to  Louis  Nicolas  Fouquet,  son  of  Fouquet,  the  celebrated  inten- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  323 

She  was  with  Madame   Guyon  at.  Gex,  at  Thonon,  and 
Grenoble. 

10.  When  her  mistress,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  benevo- 
lent labors  to  which  she  had  devoted  herself,  left  Grenoble 
for  Italy,  in  the  year  1686,  she  left  her  daughter  behind  in 
the  care  of  this  maid.  On  her  return  from  Italy  to  Grenoble, 
and  from  Grenoble  to  Paris,  her  maid-servant  came  with 
her.  When  Madame  Guyon  was  first  imprisoned  in  the 
convent  of  St.  Mary  in  Paris,  they  were  designedly  separa- 
ted from  each  other.  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose,  that 
the  maid-servant  was  imprisoned  at  the  same  time  in  the 
castle  of  Vincennes.  It  is  certain  that  she  was  imprisoned 
there  twice.  Afterwards  we  find  them  together,  in  a  state 
of  voluntary  seclusion,  in  the  convent  of  the  Visitation  at 
Meaux.  When  Madame  Guyon  returned  from  Meaux  to 
Paris,  and  found  it  necessary  to  conceal  herself  for  some 
months  in  an  obscure  house  in  the  street  of  St.  Anthony,  this 
maid  was  with  her.  After  being  concealed  for  some  time, 
as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  relate,  she  was  discov- 
ered by  the  agents  of  the  police  from  the  circumstance,  some- 
what unusual,  that  all  the  persons  going  into  the  house  were 
seen  to  enter  it  by  means  of  private  keys,  and  without  knock- 
ing at  the  door.* 

So  closely  were  they  united,  and  so  deeply  imbued  was 
the  maid  with  the  principles  of  the  mistress,  that,  when  Ma- 
dame Guyon  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  at  Vincennes,  it 
was  thought  necessary  that  .her  maid-servant  should  be  in- 
carcerated with  her.  It  was  there  that  the  mistress  com- 
posed religious  songs ;  her  faithful  domestic  and  attendant 

dant  of  the  finances.    Being  left  a  widow  by  the  death  of  her  husband, 
she  afterwards  married,  on  the  14th  of  Feb*.  1719,  Maximilian  Henry 
de  Bethune,  duke  of  Sally. — See  Bausset,  I.  293. 
*  Relation  du  Quietisme,  &c.,  p.  154. 


324  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

committed  them  to  memory ;  and  they  sang  them  together. 
They  were  separated,  when  Madame  Guyon  was  transferred 
to  the  prison  of  Vangirard.  They  were  afterwards  both  sent 
to  the  Bastille, 

11.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  of  this  faithful  woman,  to 
whom  Madame  Guyon  was  so  much  indebted,  that  she  was 
pious.  Her  piety,  founded  upon  the  principles  of  conse- 
cration and  faith,  was  intelligent,  whole-hearted,  and  perse- 
vering. 

One  of  the  remarkable  things  in  her  character,  which  is 
too  much  overlooked  by  Christians,  was  her  appreciation  of 
God's  providence.  In  desiring  to  be  what  God  would  have 
her  to  be,  and  to  be  nothing  more  and  nothing  less,  she  in- 
cluded time  and  place,  as  well  as  disposition  and  action. 
She  had  not  a  doubt,  that  God,  who  had  given  remarkable 
powers  to  Madame  Guyon,  had  called  her  to  the  great  work 
in  which  she  was  employed.  But  knowing  that  her  beloved 
mistress  could  not  go  alone,  but  must  constantly  have  some 
female  attendant,  she  had  the  conviction  equally  distinct, 
that  she  was  called  to  be  her  maid-servant.  Such  were  the 
relations  existing  between  them,  and  such  was  their  adapted- 
ness  to  each  other,  she  could  not  well  avoid  the  conclusion, 
that  this  field  of  labor  was  the  sphere  of  Providence  to  her ; 
and  though,  in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  it  might  not  have 
had  great  attractions,  she  accepted  it  with  cheerfulness,  and 
filled  it  with  fidelity.  And  he,  who  called  her  to  this  work, 
alone  can  tell  how  much  the  world  is  indebted  to  the  prayers 
and  to  the  humble  but  necessary  labors  of  this  pious  servant. 

12.  She  was  a  person  of  a  strong  understanding,  as  well 
as  of  a  pious  heart.  Her  letters  show  this.  She  took  a 
strong  hold  of  the  truth  ;  and  her  purpose  was  fixed  to  main- 
tain it.  Nothing  could  turn  her  from  what  she  believed  to 
be  the  will  of  God.  Threatenings  and  promises  were  em- 
ployed to  induce  her  to  say  something  to  the  disadvantage 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  325 

of  Madame  Guyon.*  But  her  faith  was  not  of  that  kind 
which  can  be  bought  with  money.  And  while  she  was  firm 
in  her  purpose,  not  to  say  any  thing  against  her  spiritual 
friend  and  mother,  she  seems  to  have  been  imprisoned 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  her  from  saying  or 
doing  any  thing  openly  and  publicly  in  her  favor.  It  is  at 
least  difficult  to  divine  any  other  adequate  motive. 

13.  The  religious  principles  she  adopted,  were  those 
which  are  found  in  the  writings  of  Madame  Guyon;  —  justi- 
fication by  faith  in  distinction  from  justification  by  works ; 
human  accountability  and  power  existing  and  exercised  in 
conformity  and  in  cooperation  with  divine  grace ;  —  the 
gradual  but  thorough  sanctification  of  the  heart  through  the 
agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  made  present  and  operative  in 
the  soul  through  faith ;  —  and  this  sanctification  showing 
itself  in  the  form  of  disinterested  or  rather  of  unselfish  love  ; 
—  a  love,  in  other  words,  which  loves  every  thing  that  is 
lovely,  as  it  ought  to  be  loved,  and  not  otherwise. 

On  these  principles  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  gospel  ex- 
hibited itself  not  merely  as  a  plan  or  scheme  for  escaping 
punishment,  but  as  containing  also  the  element  of  spiritual 
restoration  and  of  inward  life.  She  regarded  the  new  life 
in  Christ  when  perfected,  the  same  as  Christ's  life,  or 
God's  life;  and  those  who  have  experienced  the  inward 
spiritual  renovation  to  the  extent  of  pure  or  perfect  love, 
as  truly  one  with  God.  It  was  at  this  great  object  that  she 
aimed. 

14.  She  did  not  allow  herself  to  spend  time  in  estimating 
the  comparative  value  of  God  and  Mammon.  God  was  all 
to  her.  She  crucified  and  trampled  under  foot  all  that  stood 
between  her  soul  and  the  divine  will.     Ceasing  to  regard 

*  See  A  Dissertation  on  Pure  Love  by  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray 
together  with  an  Apologetic  Preface,  &c.    Dublin,  1739.    p.  97. 
VOL.  tt.  28 


32G  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

earth  as  her  place  of  residence,  she  could  say  in  simplicity 
and  truth  of  spirit,  but  without  repining,  — 

"  Oh !  cease,  my  wandering  soul, 
On  restless  wing  to  roam ; 
All  this  wide  world,  to  either  pole, 
Has  not  for  thee  a  home." 

Her  imprisonment,  therefore,  as  she  looked  forward  to 
another  and  dearer  abode,  was  less  severe  to  her  than  it 
might  have  been  to  others.  But  it  is  very  obvious,  that  this 
was  owing  to  her  state  of  mind,  and  not  to  any  spirit  of  alle- 
viation and  kindness  on  the  part  of  those  who  troubled  her. 
After  the  departure  of  Madame  Guyon  for  Vaugirard,  she 
was  in  solitary  confinement,  the  most  trying  situation  possi- 
ble. She  was  not  only  not  allowed  to  see  her  friends,  but 
not  allowed  to  correspond  with  them.  It  is  true,  she  found 
means  to  write  a  few  letters ;  but  it  was  not  owing  to  any 
kindness  or  permission  on  the  part  of  those  who  kept  her  in 
prison. 

15.  The  following  letter  to  her  brother,  which  is  found  in 
the  French  edition  of  the  life  of  Madame  Guyon,  goes  to 
confirm,  I  think,  what  has  been  said  in  relation  to  her  con- 
sistent and  well-established  piety. 

[Prison  of  Vincennes, ,  1697.] 

"  My  very  dear  Brother, 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  ever  have  the  consolation 
of  seeing  you  again.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  you,  and  still 
more  on  your  account  than  on  my  own.  That  is  to  say,  I 
should  be  glad,  if  it  were  God's  will ;  for  I  have  no  desires 
and  no  consolations  separate  from  him.  Whenever  I  am 
permitted  to  see  you,  I  shall  speak  freely  in  relation  to  Ma- 
dame Guyon.     If  I  have  hitherto  been  somewhat  reserved 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  327 

in  regard  to  her,  I  can  mention  reasons  for  it  which  will 
satisfy  you. 

"  I  am  sensible,  my  dear  brother,  of  the  good  disposition 
of  your  heart ;  and  well  I  know  that  you  love  me.  I  never 
can  forget  your  great  care  and  concern  in  relation  to  my 
welfare,  when  we  were  about  to  part  from  each  other  ;  and 
how  much  troubled  you  were  in  seeing  me  forsake  the  ad- 
vantages the  world  held  out. 

"  But  God  called  me,  and  I  was  obliged  to  go.  It  was 
the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father,  that  I  should  be  separated 
from  every  thing  that  bound  me  down  to  earth.  It  was 
God  who  gave  me  strength  to  withstand  the  solicitations  of 
a  brother's  love.  If  your  house,  my  dear  brother,  had  been 
made  of  precious  stones,  and  if  I  could  have  been  treated 
and  honored  in  it  as  a  queen,  yet  I  should  have  forsaken  all 
to  follow  God,  who  called  me,  not  to  pleasures,  but  to  suffer- 
ing. I  had  inward  as  well  as  outward  crosses ;  but,  gently 
and  joyfully,  I  went  on,  following  God.  I  prayed  in  myself, 
that  I  might  be  faithful  to  the  cross. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  brother,  if  I  had  stopped  and  at- 
tempted to  explain  and  to  reason  with  you  at  that  time, 
what  would  you  have  said  ?  What  would  you  have  done  ? 
You  would  have  said,  I  was  very  unwise,  very  foolish. 
With  very  good  intentions  on  your  part,  you  would  have 
raised  a  multitude  of  objections,  and  have  obstructed  my 
greatest  good.  You  would  have  stood  in  the  way  of  what  I 
cannot  fail  to  regard  as  my  greatest  consolation,  yea,  my 
boundless  joy,  my  sweet  repose,  which  is  in  all  things  to  do 
the  will  of  God.  I  can  truly  say,  that,  standing  in  God's 
will,  and  doing  and  suffering  his  will,  I  have  something 
which  strengthens,  animates,  and  encourages  me  ;  I  am  fed 
with  a  nourishment  which  the  world  cannot  give.  And,  on 
the  other  hand,  not  to  do  God's  will,  when  it  is  presented 
before  me,  is  more  dreadful  to  me  than  hell.     If,  when  I 


328  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

was  called  to  leave  my  friends  and  home,  and  go  with  Ma- 
dame Guyon,  I  had  refused  to  do  it,  the  grace  of  God  would 
have  been  taken  from  me  and  given  to  another.  And  after 
such  unfaithfulness  and  such  loss,  what  could  I  have  done  ? 
I  should  never  have  had  repose  or  quiet  of  soul,  which  is  to 
be  found  in  God  only. 

"  But  I  can  talk  and  reason  with  you  now,  my  dear 
brother,  without  fear.  Your  arguments  and  wishes  can  now 
have  but  little  effect  in  placing  an  obstacle  between  myself 
and  the  sufferings  to  which  God  calls  me.  There  is  but 
little  danger  of  my  getting  away  from  the  prison  of  Vin- 
cennes,  where  I  have  been  confined  twice.  I  have  been  in 
prison  this  last  time  nearly  three  years.  Whether  I  shall 
ever  be  released  again  in  this  life,  I  know  not.  Perhaps  I 
shall  have  no  other  consolation  in  this  life,  than  what  I  find 
in  suffering. 

"  I  am  not  allowed  any  materials  for  writing ;  nor  is  it  an 
easy  thing  for  written  communications  to  pass  in  and  out  of 
my  cell.  Unexpectedly,  however,  I  obtained  some  sheets 
of  paper ;  and,  using  soot  instead  of  ink,  and  a  bit  of  stick 
instead  of  a  pen,  I  have  been  enabled  to  write  this.  But  I 
do  it  in  the  utmost  hazard  and  jeopardy.  It  is  my  hope, 
that  you  will  receive  what  I  write,  and  that,  with  the  divine 
blessing,  it  may  one  day  be  a  means  of  comforting  you  in 
my  imprisonment ;  for  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have  an  hun- 
dred times  more  trouble  and  concern  about  it  than  I  have. 
Not  a  day  passes  in  which  I  do  not  thank  God  that  he  has 
imprisoned  me  here.  I  cannot  forget  the  time  when  I  laid 
myself  upon  his  altar,  to  be  his  in  joy  and  in  sorrow  ;  and  I 
regard  my  imprisonment  as  a  pleasing  evidence,  that  he  did 
not  reject  the  sacrifice.  In  permitting  me  to  suffer  for  him, 
he  has  done  me  a  great  favor. 

"  I  feel  for  those  who  have  afflicted  and  persecuted  us.  I 
indulge  the  hope,  that  God  will,  in  time,  open  the  eyes  of 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  32$ 

those  among  them  who  are  upright,  but  have  acted  wrongly 
from  false  views.  It  is  my  desire  especially,  that  they  may 
be  led  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  character  of  Ma- 
dame Guyon  ;  '  a  precious  stone,'  I  may  well  call  her,  whose 
brightness  has  not  been  dimmed,  but  rather  embellished,  by 
their  attempts  to  tarnish  it.  Having  been  with  her  twelve 
years,  I  think  I  know  her  character  thoroughly.  If  it  is  a 
blessing  to  have  her  personal  acquaintance,  it  is  an  honor 
also  to  share  in  her  sufferings.  Having  been  the  constant 
witness  of  her  devoted  piety,  I  hope  I  have  imbibed  some- 
thing of  her  spirit.  It  has  seemed  to  me,  that  I  have  seen 
the  divine  nature  manifested  in  her  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner ;  and,  wherever  I  discover  the  traces  and  footsteps  of 
God,  I  make  haste  to  follow. 

"  We  are  now  separated  from  each  other ;  I  am  in  this 
prison  alone,  she  in  another  place ;  but  we  are  still  united 
in  spirit.  The  walls  of  a  prison  may  confine  the  body  ;  but 
they  cannot  hinder  the  union  of  souls.  It  is  the  love  of 
Christ  which  unites  us.  It  is  in  Christ,  and  for  Christ's 
sake,  that  I  love  her,  and  that  we  love  each  other ;  and  my 
love  is  continually  increasing. 

"  Do  not  wonder,  my  dear  brother,  that  I  do  not  go  into 
particulars.  Is  it  not  enough  to  say,  that  she  was  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  God  to  bring  me  to  a  knowledge  of 
himself,  —  that  God  whom  I  now  love,  and  whom  I  shall 
love  for  ever  ?  She  taught  me  the  great  lesson  of  self-denial, 
of  dying  to  the  life  of  nature,  and  of  living  only  to  the  will 
of  God.  I  never  can  forget  the  diligence  she  used,  the 
patience  she  exhibited,  and  the  holy  love  which  animated 
her  in  my  behalf.  So  do  not  wonder  that  I  love  her.  Yea, 
I  love  her  because  she  loves  the  God  whom  I  love ;  and  it 
is  with  a  love  which  is  real,  living,  and  operative.  And 
this  love  has  the  power  of  uniting  our  hearts  in  a  manner 
which  I  am  unable  to  express  ;  but  it  seems  to  me,  that  it  is 

vol.  it.  28  * 


330 


LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 


the  beginning  of  that  union  which  we  shall  have  in  heaven, 
where  the  love  of  God  will  unite  us  all  in  him. 

"  With  this  discovery  of  my  feelings,  my  dear  brother, 
and  hoping  that  you  will  now  be  at  rest  in  the  matters  which 
have  hitherto  troubled  you,  I  bid  you  adieu.  ." 

16.  The  following  is  another  letter  from  the  same  pious 
maid-servant  to  an  ecclesiastic. 

"  TO   GOD   BE   ALL   THE   GLORY." 

"  Reverend  Father, 

"  I  will  endeavor  to  explain  to  you  the  sentiments  of 
my  heart  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  That  I  suffer  I  do 
not  deny ;  but  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  say,  that  I  bear  the  cross 
willingly.  I  would  rather  die  than  be  unwilling  to  bear  it. 
Nothing  could  express  my  sorrow  and  wretchedness,  if  I 
should  find  in  myself  an  impatient  disposition.  I  bless  the 
Lord  that  he  has  given  me  other  sentiments.  I  feel  that  I 
am  not  only  resigned  to  God,  but  entirely  given  up  to  him. 
Most  tenderly  do  I  love  his  holy  will ;  and  I  shall  not  cease 
to  love  and  adore  it,  whatever  may  be  his  dispensations 
towards  me.  And  therefore  do  I  esteem  myself  happy  in 
being  a  prisoner  for  the  Lord's  sake. 

"It  is  true,  that  I  hear  the  sighing  and  crying  of  outward 
nature  ;  but  let  it  complain.  That  inner  nature  which  has 
its  life  from  faith,  pays  no  attention  to  it.  So  strong  is  my 
heart  in  the  Lord,  that  I  have  ceased  to  trouble  myself  about 
any  new  cross.  It  seems  as  if  I  had  become  inured  and 
hardened  to  trial.  Is  there  any  thing  which  I  do  not  feel 
ready  to  suffer  ?  I  love  the  cross  with  a  true  love,  because 
I  see  God  in  it,  and  it  makes  me  more  nearly  acquainted 
with  him. 

"  I  am  now  separated  from  my  beloved  mistress,  Madame 
Guyon.     If  it  be  the  will  of  God,  that  I  shall  no  more  see 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  331 

her  on  earth,  I  have  no  doubt  that  I  shall  see  her  in  heaven. 
The  power  of  man  does  not  reach  there.  Even  in  this  life, 
our  separation  from  each  other  in  person  does  not  cause  a 
separation  in  spirit.  I  love  her  as  being  made  one  with 
her  in  Christ ;  —  in  him  and  for  him.  So  closely  are  we 
united,  though  separated  in  body,  that,  when  I  pray  to  God, 
she  seems  to  be  always  present  with  me.  Being  one  with 
Christ,  I  do  not  know  how  I  could  separate  from  her  without 
separating  myself  from  the  Saviour.  Our  union,  therefore, 
shall  never  be  broken  ;  neither  in  earth  nor  in  heaven.  It 
is  an  union  of  the  cross  upon  earth,  and  an  union  of  the  pos- 
session of  God  in  eternity.  It  is  this  hope  which  enlivens 
my  soul. 

"  I  think,  Reverend  Father,  you  would  not  regard  me  as 
expressing  myself  too  strongly  in  relation  to  my  love  for 
Madame  Guyon,  if  you  knew  what  a  blessing  she  has  been 
to  me.  God  made  her  the  instrument  of  revealing  himself 
to  my  heart.  And  I  experienced  her  advice  and  aid  in  all 
that  subsequent  struggle,  which  was  necessary  in  denying 
and  subduing  the  life  of  nature,  and  bringing  it  into  subjec- 
tion. Under  her  instructions  and  prayers,  the  love  of  Christ 
grew  so  strongly  within  me,  that  it  seemed  to  be  written  and 
engraven,  as  it  were,  upon  my  heart,  in  characters  deep  and 
never  fading.  And  the  more  I  love  God,  the  more  closely 
I  find  myself  bound  to  her.  Who,  then,  shall  separate  us  ? 
Neither  persecutions  nor  prisons,  neither  men  nor  devils, 
nor  any  thing  else,  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ ; 
—  and  what,  then,  shall  separate  us  from  each  other  ?  It  is 
always  in  the  sweet  and  lovely  heart  of  Jesus,  where  my 
life  reposes,  that  I  find  her.  O  Saviour  !  I  lift  up  my 
heart  and  hands  unto  thee,  and  return  thee  thanks  for  uniting 
me  to  one  who  loves  thee  so  tenderly  and  purely. 

"  I  repeat  again,  that,  in  my  imprisonment,  nature  suffers 
grievously ;  but  yet  I  would  not  be  without  suffering.     It  is 


332  LTFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

in  the  utmost  sincerity  I  assert,  that  I  have  a  secret  fear  of 
being  without  suffering.  The  cross,  in  the  sense  of  suffer- 
ing for  Christ,  is  dear  to  me.  I  have  espoused  it  with  an 
inconceivable  force  and  ardor,  and  would  be  faithful  to  it  as 
long  as  I  live.  In  the  consecration,  which  I  have  made  to 
God,  I  have  reserved  nothing.  Both  body  and  spirit  are 
entirely  his.  Let  him  do  with  me  whatever  he  pleases.  I 
have  no  desire,  no  purpose,  no  will  of  my  own,  separate 
from  the  will  of  God.  The  continual  prayer  of  my  heart 
is,  —  Thy  will  be  done." 

17.  Such  were  the  devout  dispositions  of  this  pious  maid. 
If  she  had  consented  to  say  a  word  unfavorable  to  Madame 
Guyon,  she  would  undoubtedly  have  been  set  at  liberty,  and 
perhaps  rewarded.  But  although  she  was  poor,  and  in 
prison,  the  world  had  not  riches  enough  to  seduce  her  prin- 
ciples and  pervert  her  integrity.  It  was  a  saying  of  the 
Saviour,  that  the  "  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  unto 
them."  And  He  who  is  the  author  of  the  gospel,  and  who 
has  all  hearts  in  his  hands,  knows  full  well,  whoever  else 
may  be  ignorant  of  it,  that,  among  the  neglected  and  forgot- 
ten, among  the  poor  of  this  world,  there  have  been,  and  there 
still  are,  those  who  are  rich  in  faith ;  —  those  upon  whose 
love,  patience,  and  Christian  integrity,  angels  in  heaven  look 
down  with  the  deepest  interest.  If  they  are  the  world's  ser- 
vants, they  are  the  Lord's  children.  Unknown  among  men, 
their  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life.  "With- 
out homes  on  earth,  they  have  habitations  appointed  for 
them  in  the  skies. 

18.  The  confinement  of  Madame  Guyon,  in  the  Bastille, 
is  briefly  alluded  to  in  the  Memoirs  of  Dangeau.  He  writes 
from  Versailles,  "  Nothing  is  talked  of  here,"  he  says,  "  but 
the  bishop  of  Meaux's  last  publication  against  the  archbishop 
of  Cambray,  in  which  the  whole  doctrine  of  Madame  Guyon 
is  exposed.     This  lady  is  in  the  Bastille,  where  Monsieur 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  333 

de  la  Reine  [chief  of  the  police  of  Paris]  has  already  inter- 
rogated her  several  times  by  order  of  the  king.  She  is  said 
to  defend  herself  with  great  ability  and  firmness." 

A  singular  incident  occurred  at  this  time.  Madame 
Guyon  had  not  been  long  in  the  Bastille  before  the  report 
was  circulated,  that  she  was  dead.  The  report  arose  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  and  passed  for  a  time  uncontradicted. 
It  reached  the  ears  of  Fenelon ;  —  and  at  a  time  when  her 
enemies  had  not  ceased  to  make  efforts  to  destroy  her  char- 
acter. He  supposed  it  to  be  true,  that  she  had  done  with 
the  things  of  this  world.  All  the  personal  motives,  which 
had  rendered  him  anxious  to  sustain  her,  had  ceased.  And 
at  that  late  hour,  if  he  had  renounced  her  and  her  writings, 
he  might  have  been  restored  to  the  favor  of  Louis  Four- 
teenth, and  to  the  possession  of  all  that  the  world  can  give. 
But  he  could  not  cease  to  do  homage  to  the  truth.  He  took 
the  opportunity  of  the  announcement  of  her  death,  to  bear 
the  most  decided  testimony  to  her  virtues.  And,  in  doing  it, 
he  added,  with  a  full  perception  of  his  own  situation,  "It 
would  be  infamous  weakness  in  me  to  speak  doubtfully  in  rela- 
tion to  her  character,  in  order  to  free  myself  from  oppression."* 

19.  The  report  was  unfounded.  It  was  the  maid-servant, 
and  not  the  mistress,  who  had  gone  to  her  reward.  And  so 
long  had  they  labored  and  suffered  together,  and  so  closely 
were  they  associated  in  men's  minds,  that  it  is  not  surprising 
that  what  was  true  of  one  should  be  attributed  to  the  other. 
Under  what  circumstances  this  pious  servant  and  faithful 
attendant  and  companion  of  Madame  Guyon  died,  we  know 
not.  We  can  only  assert  with  confidence,  without  receiving 
it  from  human  lips,  that  when  her  dying  head  reposed  upon 
the  tattered  couch  or  upon  the  stony  floor  of  her  prison,  she 
did  not  repent  that  she  gave  up  all  for  Christ. 

*  Bausset's  Life  of  Fenelon.  vol.  i.  p.  255. 


334  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

20.  In  what  way  Madame  Guyon  sustained  the  long 
years  of  her  imprisonment  in  the  Bastille,  by  what  physical 
appliances  and  occupations,  we  have  now  no  means  of  ascer- 
taining. Her  situation  then,  and  afterwards,  was  such  as  to 
compel  her  to'  silence.  Every  prisoner  who  entered  the 
Bastille  was  obliged  to  take  an  oath,  by  which  he  bound 
himself  to  maintain  an  inviolable  secrecy  with  respect  to 
all  that  he  had  seen  or  heard  there.  If,  at  any  subsequent 
period  of  her  life,  she  had  made  known  the  particulars  of 
her  suffering  there,  and  especially  if  she  had  made  any  com- 
plaint, it  would  only  have  resulted  in  her  being  subjected  to 
the  same  sufferings  again.* 

But  certainly  it  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture  what  she 
must  have  undergone.  It  is  well  understood,  I  suppose,  that 
there  are  but  few  persons,  however  vigorous  they  may  be  in 
body  or  in  mind,  even  of  those  who  are  supported  by  reli- 
gion, that  can  sustain,  for  a  great  length  of  time,  the  dreadful 
ravages  of  solitary  confinement. 

21.  In  the  few  memorials  that  have  escaped  the  terrible 
silence  of  the  Bastille,  it  is  affecting  to  notice  the  various 
resorts  of  suffering  humanity  to  escape  from  its  calamities. 
The  prisoner  looks  upward,  but  he  sees  no  sun  ;  he  gazes  at 
the  straggling  and  dim  light  of  his  window,  but  it  shows  him 
no  green  fields  and  woods ;  he  listens  and  hears,  or  thinks 
he  hears,  a  voice  coming  up  from  the  streets  below,  which 
reminds  him  of  a  child  or  brother ;  but,  alas !  child  and 
brother,  and  the  hopes  and  happiness  of  home  are  no  longer 
his.  Sad  and  weeping  he  walks  from  side  to  side  of  his 
dark  room;  till,  finding  his  mind  sinking  under  a  sorrow 
which  it  is  his  duty  to  strive  against,  he  resorts  to  any  sort 
of  occupation  or  amusement,  however  unsuitable  it  might  be 
under  other  circumstances. 

*  Bausset's  Life  of  Fenelon,  vol.  i.  p.  255.     See  also  Davenport's 
Historv  of  the  Bastille. 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  660 

"  The  histories  of  the  Bastille,"  says  a  writer,  "  are  full 
of  attempts  to  train  spiders  by  supplying  them  with  food, 
and  to  avert  the  horrors  of  reflection  by  ascertaining  the 
dimensions  of  the  room,  or  counting  the  studs  upon  the  door 
Some  have  spent  whole  days  in  pouring  water  from  one 
dish  into  another  ;  or  in  disposing,  in  fanciful  arrangements, 
the  pieces  of  which  their  faggots  were  composed." 

22.  If  the  stoutest  men  have  sunk  under  these  calami- 
ties, if  their  heads  have  become  gray,  and  their  hearts  been 
broken,  we  may  well  suppose  that  it  could  be  no  other  than 
a  place  of  extreme  trial  and  sorrow  to  a  feeble  and  delicate 
woman.  Her  physical  nature,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say, 
suffered  as  much  as  that  of  others.  Those  natural  affections 
which  bound  her  to  her  kindred  and  friends  were  equally 
strong,  and  equally  liable  to  be  wounded.  She  had  a  daugh- 
ter and  sons  and  many  beloved  friends,  from  whom  she  was 
entirely  cut  off.  So  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  she 
suffered  greatly  both  in  person  and  in  mind. 

But  her  case  differed  from  that  of  many  others,  inasmuch 
as  she  had  the  supports  of  religion.  God  was  with  her ; 
and  she  felt  that  all  was  well  so  long  as  she  had  the  divine 
favor. 

23.  In  a  single  passage  of  her  Autobiography,  she  refers 
to  this  subject.  "  I,  being  in  the  Bastille,"  she  says,  "  said 
to  thee,  O  my  God !  if  thou  art  pleased  to  render  me  a 
spectacle  to  men  and  angels,  thy  holy  will  be  done  !  All 
that  I  ask  is,  that  thou  wilt  be  with  and  save  those  who  love 
thee ;  —  so  that  neither  life  nor  death,  neither  principalities 
nor  powers,  may  ever  separate  them  from  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  As  for  me,  what  matters  it  what 
men  think  of  me,  or  what  they  make  me  suffer,  since  they 
cannot  separate  me  from  that  Saviour  whose  name  is  en- 
graven in  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart  ?  If  I  can  only  be 
accepted  of  him,  I  am  willing  that  all  men  should  despise 


336  LIFE,    ETC. 

and  hate  me.  Their  strokes  will  polish  what  may  be  de- 
fective in  me,  so  that  I  may  be  presented  in  peace  to  him, 
for  whom  I  die  daily.  Without  his  favor  I  am  wretched. 
O  Saviour!  I  present  myself  before  thee  an  offering,  a 
sacrifice.  Purify  me  in  thy  blood,  that  I  may  be  accepted 
of  thee." 

24.  If  it  was  dangerous  for  her  to  make  complaints,  and 
if  the  requisitions  of  the  Bastille,  sanctioned  by  an  oath,  for- 
bade them,  it  is  also  true,  that  she  had  no  disposition  to  do 
it.  It  was  a  part  of  her  principles,  and  of  her  experience,  to 
see  all  things  in  the  light  of  God.  Men,  even  wicked  men, 
in  the  estimate  which  she  took  of  things,  were  but  the  in- 
struments of  higher  purposes.  Men  had  imprisoned  her; 
but  they  did  not  do  it  without  God's  permission.  That 
•which  he  permits,  is  as  essential,  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  wise 
and  glorious  administration,  as  that  which  he  does.  This 
faith,  although  it  did  not  prevent  suffering,  stopped  all  com- 
plaint. And  sometimes  it  so  opened  the  fountains  of  joy, 
that  here,  as  at  Vincennes,  the  stones  of  her  prison  looked 
like  rubies  in  her  sight.  Here,  too,  she  composed  songs  and 
suno-  them  ;  but  the  voice  of  her  pious  maid-servant,  which 
mingled  with  hers  in  her  former  imprisonment,  was  now 
silent.  She  mourned  and  rejoiced,  she  wept  and  sung 
alone, 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

On  the  nature  of  pure  love.  The  advocates  of  this  doctrine  called 
Quielists.  Of  those  traits  of  religious  character  which  seem  to  be 
connected  with  the  origin  of  the  name.  Of  the  meekness  and 
simplicity  of  spirit,  which  characterize  the  true  Quietist.  The 
Quietist  in  affliction.  The  Quietist  in  action.  The  Quietist  when 
suffering  injury.  The  Quietist  in  prayer.  Of  other  religious 
traits  which  characterize  him.  Extracts  from  the  writings  of 
Molinos.     Selections  from  the  poems  of  Madame  Guy  on. 

Pure  love  is  a  love  purified  from  all  selfishness.  He 
whose  love  is  pure,  loves  all  things,  so  far  as  he  knows  their 
character,  as  he  ought  to  love  them.  As  pure  love  is  a  love 
which  is  not  turned  from  its  appropriate  object  by  any  selfish 
bias,  but  arises  by  its  own  law  of  origin  under  the  natural 
power  of  that  object,  this  is  the  natural  result ;  namely,  that 
he  who  has  such  love,  loves  as  he  ought  to  love.  His  love, 
moreover,  like  all  other  kinds  of  love,  and  like  the  love  of 
all  other  beings,  has  its  supreme  centre.  And  if  he  loves  as 
he  ought  to  love,  thus  giving  to  every  object  what  is  its  due, 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  the  supreme  centre  of  his 
affection  is,  and  must  be,  God. 

2.  It  is  true  the  time  may  come  when  he  will  love-  God 
more.  That  is  to  say,  as  he  advances  and  expands  in 
knowledge  and  in  mental  power,  he  will  have  more  capacity 
of  loving  ;  and  consequently  will  love  more  in  degree.  But 
if  his  love  may  be  stronger  at  some  future  time,  it  will  not 

vol.  ii.  29 


338  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

be  purer ;  and  as  its  increased  exercise  will  be  the  result, 
exclusively,  of  its  increased  capacity,  it  will  not  render  him 
more  truly  acceptable  to  God,  who  requires  from  us  accord- 
ing to  what  we  have,  and  not  according  to  what  we  have 
not.  And  while  he  loves  God  supremely,  he  loves  himself 
also.  But  he  loves  himself  in  subordination  to,  and  in 
reference  to  the  divine  relation ;  namely,  as  one  who  has 
nothing  in  himself,  but  who  regards  all  things  as  of  God, 
in  God,  and  for  God.  He  loves  himself,  therefore,  only  as 
an  object  or  being,  in  whom  God  may  be  glorified.  And  he 
loves  his  neighbor  just  as  he  loves  himself.  Such  is  pure 
love. 

3.  In  the  time  of  Madame  Guyon  and  Fenelon,  the  advo- 
cates of  the  doctrine  of  Pure  Love,  that  is  to  say,  of  a  love 
purified  from  all  selfishness,  were  frequently  called  Quietists. 
In  the  controversy  between  Bossuet  and  Fenelon,  this  name, 
^s  if  it  implied  and  conveyed  some  error  and  some  reproach, 
was  almost  constantly  applied  to  them.  It  was  not  a  name 
of  their  own  seeking  ;  but,  having  been  frequently  applied,  it 
became  after  a  time  a  recognized  designation.  It  had  been 
previously  applied  to  the  Italian  priest  and  reformer,  Mi- 
chael de  Molinos,  and  to  his  followers. 

4.  I  think  we  may  properly  make  a  distinction  between 
those  who  were  merely  the  speculative  believers  and  advo- 
cates of  the  doctrine  of  pure  love,  and  those  who  were 
really  the  possessors  of  the  love  implied  in  the  doctrine,  or 
at  least  possessors  of  it  in  a  very  high  degree.  The  term 
Quietist  belongs  peculiarly  to  the  latter  class.  And,  taken 
in  the  proper  and  right  sense,  it  undoubtedly  indicates  some 
leading  and  characteristic  traits  in  their  experience  and 
lives.  In  approaching  the  termination  of  these  memorials 
of  Madame  Guyon,  and  in  taking  leave  of  those  who  have 
been  brought  to  our  notice  in  them,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
point  out  some  of  these  traits. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  339 

5.  There  is  no  trait,  which  more  distinctly  and  fully 
characterizes  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  a  truly  purified 
and  perfected  love,  than  meekness  of  spirit.  And  it  is  in 
this  trait  especially,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  origin  of  the 
name,  to  which  our  attention  has  been  now  directed.  How 
can  those  be  otherwise  than  calm  and  serene,  as  well  as 
happy,  who  love  God  with  all  their  heart  and  their  neighbor 
as  themselves  ?  Regarding  themselves  as  nothing,  and  lov- 
ing God  above  all  things,  it  is  almost  a  matter  of  course 
that  they  are  exempt  from  those  personal  pretensions  and 
claims,  which  are  the  opposite  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit. 
It  is  impossible  for  them  to  have  pure  love  without  assured 
faith ;  and  the  same  faith,  which  is  the  parent  of  love,  is 
the  parent  of  a  childlike,  humble,  and  acquiescent  temper. 
The  truly  meek  man  is  a  peaceable,  a  tranquil  man.  In  the 
loss  of  the  life  of  nature,  he  has  become  the  subject  and  the 
recipient  of  the  life  of  God ;  and  some  portion  of  that  sub- 
lime tranquillity,  which  belongs  to  the  perfection  of  the  divine 
existence,  characterizes  those  who  are  fully  born  into  his 
image. 

6.  The  true  Quietist  is  a,  man  not  only  of  meekness  of 
spirit,  but  is  a  man  of  simplicity  of  spirit.  In  other  words, 
he  is  a  man  of  a  single  principle  or  motive  of  action.  In 
the  language  of  Scripture  he  has  that  "  single  eye,"  which 
makes  the  whole  body  full  of  light.  Human  passion,  that  is 
to  say,  unsanctified  passion,  has  lost  its  power  over  him. 
His  mind  has  assumed  an  unity  of  character,  harmonious  in 
itself  and  harmonious  in  its  movement.  This  is  the  result 
of  its  supreme  love  to  God,  which,  in  subordinating  and 
regulating  every  other  love,  reduces  all  principles  of  action 
and  all  motives  into  one.  God  in  every  thing,  and  God 
through  Christ  in  himself,  thus  harmonizing  himself  not  only 
with  God,  but  with  every  thing  which  God  does  and  is  ;  — 
this  is  both  his  belief  and  position.    So  that,  instead  of  being 


340  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

many  men  in  one  through  the  diversity  of  self,  he  is  one 
man  in  God  through  the  unity  of  love. 

7.  It  is  the  result  of  these  views  and  of  this  position,  that 
the  Quietist,  having  undergone  the  purifying  baptism  of  faith 
and  love,  is  resigned  and  acquiescent  in  those  circumstances 
and  in  that  place,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  God  in  his 
providence  has  allotted  him.  If  he  is  afflicted,  he  knows 
that  it  is  good  for  him  to  suffer ;  and  the  tears  which 
he  sheds  only  give  a  new  beauty  to  the  peaceful  serenity 
which  shines  through  them.  If  he  is  poor,  he  is  content  to 
be  without  the  earth's  treasures,  accounting  himself  rich  in 
the  possession  of  inward  wealth  with  outward  destitution. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Lord  has  made  him  rich  in  this 
world's  goods,  he  sees  distinctly  that  his  riches  are  the  gift 
of  another  ;  and,  as  the  feelings  of  his  heart  harmonize  with 
his  perceptions,  he  is  entirely  content  and  happy,  in  renounc- 
ing all  claims  for  himself,  and  in  being  merely  the  Lord's 
steward.  He  loves  to  be  just  where  the  Lord  would  have 
him  to  be.  So  that,  whether  we  find  him  in  wealth  or  in 
want,  in  prison  or  on  the  throne,  in  the  presence  of  his  own 
people  and  in  the  peace  of  hisj-own  family,  or  in  the  depri- 
vations of  exile,  he  is  always  at  home.  All  things  are  made 
equal  in  God. 

8.  It  might,  perhaps,  be  supposed,  from  the  import  of  the 
name  upon  which  we  are  remarking,  —  a  name  obviously 
designed,  in  its  application  to  Madame  Guyon,  and  others  be- 
fore and  after  her,  as  a  name  of  reproach,  —  that  those  who 
bore  it  failed  in  being  faithful  laborers  in  the  cause  they 
espoused.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  term 
itself  does  not  necessarily  indicate  either  action  or  want  of 
action,  but  only  a  mode  or  character  of  action.  But  what- 
ever may  be  true  of  the  name,  it  would  be  a  great  error  to 
suppose,  that  the  man  who  is  quiet,  because  his  heart  has 
perfect  rest  in  God,  is  a  man  who  fails  to  fulfil  his  duty. 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  341 

The  Quietist,  in  this  respect  at  least,  is  not  inactive.  His 
rest  of  spirit  would  necessarily  cease,  if  he  neglected  any 
action  which  duty  imposed  upon  him.  Nor  is  his  action 
without  influence.  On  the  contrary,  if  he  has  power  with 
God,  as  he  evidently  has  in  his  private  supplications,  he  has 
also  power  with  men  in  his  outward  intercourse. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  man,  if  we  estimate  him  in  the  whole 
course  of  his  life,  who  has  more  influence ;  but  still,  it  is  true, 
that  the  influence  he  exerts  is  of  such  a  gentle  and  unobtru- 
sive kind,  that,  in  general,  it  does  not  excite  much  attention 
at  the  time  of  its  exercise.  But  if,  on  the  one  hand,  esti- 
mated in  the  light  of  human  opinion,  it  fails  in  the  attributes 
which  would  render  it  particularly  remarkable  and  striking, 
on  the  other,  it  is  not  subject  to  variations,  and  to  those  many 
drawbacks  which  are  the  results  of  the  working  of  a  differ- 
ent form  of  experience. 

There  are  some  Christians,  who,  in  particular  emergen- 
cies, produce  a  great  impression  on  the  religious  community, 
by  their  efforts  ;  —  all  eyes  are  turned  towards  them  ;  — 
they  pass  through  the  religious  and  moral  hemisphere,  like 
meteors  in  the  sky  of  nature ;  throwing  out  a  degree  of  light 
and  heat,  but  scattering  also  at  times  a  desolating  fire ;  bril- 
liant for  a  time,  but  not  unfrequently  soon  expiring.  But 
the  class  of  persons  of  whom  we  are  now  speaking,  more 
nearly  resemble  the  sun  ;  advancing  silently  and  brightly  in 
their  position ;  sometimes  hidden  from  our  sight  in  clouds, 
but  never  jostled  from  their  true  line  of  movement.  Every 
body  notices  the  meteor;  scarcely  any  one  thinks  of  the 
sun. 

9.  It  is  in  the  true  Quietist  that  we  find  the  spirit  of 
forgiveness  exhibited  in  a  remarkable  degree.  He  loves  hi* 
enemies.  Unkind  expressions  are  not  heard  upon  his  lip3 
This  benevolent  and  forgiving  spirit  is  the  natural  result  of 
the  holy  love  which  animates  him  ;  —  a  love  which  is  "  geD 

vol.  ii.  29  * 


342  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

tie  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits, 
without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy." 

And  this  is  not  all.  Realizing  the  importance  of  having 
his  own  feelings  constantly  tried  and  purified,  he  has  thus  a 
powerful  motive  to  receive  with  kindness,  and  to  bear  with 
patience,  the  evil  looks  and  words  of  others.  And  here  also, 
as  in  other  cases,  his  assured  and  prevailing  faith  enables 
him  to  look  above  the  creature,  and  to  see  the  wisdom  of 
God  manifested,  in  constantly  educing  the  sanctification  of 
the  Christian  from  the  transgressions  of  the  sinner.  So 
distinct  and  powerful  is  this  feeling,  that,  while  he  suffers  in 
his  own  person,  and  cannot  fail  to  look  with  compassion  on 
those  who  treat  him  with  unkindness,  he  is,  at  the  same  time, 
truly  grateful  that  God  so  regards  him  as  to  make  him 
suffer. 

"  If  thou  receivest  an  injury  from  any  man,"  says  Molinos, 
"  remember  that  there  are  two  things  in  it,  viz.  the  sin  of 
him  who  does  it,  and  the  suffering  which  is  inflicted  on  thy- 
self. The  sin  is  against  the  will  of  God,  and  it  greatly  dis- 
pleases him  though  he  permits  it.  But  the  suffering,  which 
thou  art  called  to  endure,  is  not  in  opposition  to  his  will. 
But,  on  the  contrary,  he  wills  it  for  thy  good.  Wherefore, 
thou  oughtest  to  receive  it  as  from  his  hand."  * 

10.  The  Quietist,  inspired  by  that  pure  love  which  he 
inculcates,  does  not  strive  for  mastery.  In  the  various  situ- 
ations in  which  he  is  placed,  he  seeks  those  things  which 
make  for  peace.  If  he  mourns  over  the  ordinary  dissen- 
tions  of  life,  still  more  does  he  turn  away  from  extreme 
violence  and  bloodshed.  If  all  men  were  Quietists,  wars 
would  be  no  longer.  He  has  learned  from  the  great  Teach- 
er, whose  life  was  the  light  of  men,  that  love  and  violence, 
that  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  and  strifes  and  wars,  cannot 

*  Spiritual  Guide,  ch.  9, 


OF    MADAME  GUYON.  343 

go  together.  A  heart  burning  with  love  cannot  be  restricted 
in  its  emotions  by  artificial  and  arbitrary  limits.  If  it  loves 
its  own  nation  and  people,  it  embraces  also,  in  the  range  of 
its  affections,  all  mankind.  He  who  is  in  perfect  love  is 
necessarily  a  citizen  of  the  world.  He  modifies  his  patriot- 
ism, therefore,  by  his  love  of  humanity.  If  he  owes  much 
to  his  fellow  citizens,  he  owes  still  more  to  his  fellow  men. 
His  duties  to  the  one  are  the  mere  incidents  to  his  situation ; 
his  duties  to  the  other  are  essential  and  everlasting. 

11.  The  Quietist  is  a  man  of  prayer.  Without  under- 
valuing that  prayer  which  is  appropriate  to  times  and 
places,  he  has  a  prayer  which  is  with  him  always.  In  souls 
in  the  state  of  pure  love,  the  inspirations  and  impulses  of 
faith  and  of  holy  desire  can  never  die.  There  is  in  them  a 
fountain,  springing  up  to  everlasting  life.  God  is  in  us,  if 
we  have  the  love  and  faith  to  admit  him  there ;  and  it  is 
God  that  teaches  us  how  to  pray. 

The  views  of  Fenelon  on  this  subject  are  striking.  He  is 
writing  on  that  passage  in  Luke  where  the  disciples  ask  the 
Saviour  to  teach  them  how  to  pray,  and  he  utters  his  heart 
in  the  form  of  a  supplication.  "  O  Lord  !  I  know  not  what 
I  should  ask  of  thee.  Thou  only  knowest  what  I  want ; 
and  thou  lovest  me,  if  I  am  thy  friend,  better  than  I  can 
love  myself.  O  Lord  !  give  to  me,  thy  child,  what  is  proper, 
whatsoever  it  may  be.  I  dare  not  ask  either  crosses  or  com- 
forts. I  only  present  myself  before  thee.  I  open  my  heart 
to  thee.  Behold  my  wants,  which  I  myself  am  ignorant  of; 
but  do  thou  behold,  and  do  according  to  thy  mercy.  Smite, 
or  heal !  Depress  me,  or  raise  me  up.  I  adore  all  thy  pur- 
poses without  knowing  them.  I  am  silent,  I  offer  myself  in 
sacrifice.  I  abandon  myself  to  thee.  I  have  no  more  any 
desire  but  to  accomplish  thy  will.  Lord,  teach  me  how  to 
pray  !    Dwell  thou  thyself  in  me  by  thy  Holy  Spirit ! " 


344  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

If  the  soul  is  entirely  free  from  selfishness,  then  all  the 
desires  which  arise  in  it  are  not  only  in  accordance  with 
God's  will,  but  are  from  God  ;  —  and  that,  too,  by  a  present 
divine  inspiration.  Such  a  soul  is  a  holy  soul.  It  lives  in 
that  same  element  of  holy  benevolence,  which  is  declared  to 
be  the  life  of  God.  "  God  is  love ;"  and  if  we  are  dependent 
upon  God  through  Christ  for  other  things,  we  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  dependent  for  the  great  gift  of  purified 
affections.  In  its  state  of  pure  love,  the  soul  can  no  more 
be  dissociated  from  and  be  independent  of  God,  than  the 
rays  of  the  sun  can  be  separated  from  and  be  indepen- 
dent of  their  great  centre.  All  its  desires,  therefore, 
are  from  God,  and  those  desires  continually  exist.  Its 
life  is  prayer ;  its  actions  are  the  expression  of  prayer ;  it 
might  be  said,  with  scarcely  a  figure  of  speech,  that  its  very 
breath  is  prayer.  While  it  regards,  in  a  suitable  manner,  all 
times  and  places  which  the  church  has  appointed,  it  has  an 
interior  closet  of  supplication,  where  God  is  ever  present, 
irrespective  of  time  and  place. 

12.  The  Quietist,  being  what  he  is  on  the  principle  of 
entire  consecration  to  God,  cannot  easily  be  restricted,  in 
his  action  and  alliances,  by  party  lines.  It  is  true  his  prin- 
ciples may  more  nearly  agree  with  the  principles  of  one 
party  than  with  those  of  another ;  and  that,  among  the  vari- 
ous social,  civil,  and  religious  divisions  which  exist,  he  may 
be  more  likely  to  act  with  one  party  than  with  another. 
But  it  is  impossible  for  him,  living  as  he  does  for  God,  and 
living  too  by  the  moment,  to  pledge  himself  absolutely  to  a 
particular  course  of  conduct  in  time  to  come.  God  is  his 
Master ;  —  and,  in  his  relation  of  an  obedient  son  and  ser- 
vant, he  is  obliged  to  act  according  to  the  light  which  he  has 
sought,  and  which  is  given  him  at  the  time  of  acting.  And 
it  is  easy  for  him  to  see,  therefore,  that  subserviency  to 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  345 

party,  in  the  sense  of  following  its  dictates  implicitly,  would 
be  inconsistent  with  allegiance  to  Him  whom  he  has  accepted 
as  his  supreme  and  only  Ruler. 

13.  It  must  not  be  understood  from  this,  however,  that 
he  is  indifferent  to  the  many  important  principles  and  ques- 
tions which  are  constantly  presented  to  notice.  It  would 
hardly  be  possible  to  make  a  greater  mistake  than  this.  As 
he  cannot  act  independently  of  principles,  it  is  the  principle 
of  things,  especially  the  moral  and  religious  principle,  which 
he  is  continually  examining.  If  the  party  to  which  he  finds 
himself  attached,  at  a  given  time,  acts  upon  moral  principle, 
then  he  goes  with  it ;  if  his  party  diverges  from  principle,  it 
necessarily  renders  him  divergent  from  the  party.  In  no 
other  way,  and  on  no  other  grounds,  can  he  be  allied  with 
party,  even  temporarily. 

Sometimes  he  fulfils  his  duty  by  ceasing  from  action. 
His  principle  of  movement  is  to  move  as  the  Lord  moves. 
If  the  Lord,  in  order  to  prevent  his  trusting  in  his  activity, 
or  in  order  to  display  more  fully  his  own  sovereignty  of 
movement,  requires  him  to  cease  from  action,  he  stands  still. 
So  that  there  is  sometimes  truth  in  the  language  of  a  great 
poet :  — 

"  They  also  serve,  who  only  stand  and  wait." 

14.  These  views  help  to  explain  the  relations  of  the 
Quietist  to  religious  organizations.  As  a  general  thing,  the 
mere  fact  of  his  being  a  member  of  a  particular  church 
organization,  or  a  religious  organization  of  any  kind,  is  a 
reason  with  him,  other  things  being  equal,  why  he  should 
remain  a  member,  rather  than  go  somewhere  else.  Hia 
present  position,  the  position  where  he  is  called  to  pray  and 
act  for  the  Lord,  is  the  true  or  providential  position,  until 
something  else,  in  providence,  calls  him  to  a  different  place. 
He  does  not  take  his  light  away,  because  the  church  is  in 
darkness ;  but  rather  lets  his  light  shine  in  the  midst  of  the 


346  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

darkness,  even  though  the  darkness  should  comprehend  it  not. 
It  was  in  this  manner  that  the  Saviour  let  his  light  shine. 

But  when  the  indications  of  Providence  are  very  clear, 
then  he  leaves  the  church  or  religious  body  with  which  he 
is  connected,  and  goes  somewhere  else ;  because  being  not 
in  inactivity,  but  only  at  rest  in  the  will  of  the  Lord,  he  goes 
where  the  Lord  requires  him  to  go.  And  his  departure 
corresponds  with  his  principles  and  his  spirit,  in  not  being 
one  of  those  ejaculatory  and  violent  disruptions,  such  as  take 
place  when  a  man  is  propelled  and  driven  off  by  the  explo- 
sive impulse  of  human  passion.  But  being  in  the  Lord's 
spirit,  who  acts  with  the  highest  reason  and  the  greatest 
tranquillity,  he  departs  calmly,  rationally,  and  lovingly ;  but 
not  without  compassion  for  those  he  leaves  behind. 

15.  I  think  we  may  add  with  a  good  deal  of  truth,  that 
the  Quietist,  although  the  name  might  seem  to  indicate  dif- 
ferently, is  a  true  reformer.  If  his  heart  is  filled  with  love, 
he  cannot  well  be  otherwise.  He  is  naturally  and  necessa- 
rily allied  with  the  spirit  of  every  enterprise  which  has  for 
its  object  the  improvement  and  the  happiness  of  men.  And 
it  is,  perhaps,  the  best  proof  of  his  vocation  as  a  reformer, 
and  that  he  is  one  sent  to  aid  in  the  correction  of  the  many 
evils  in  the  world,  that  he  has,  by  the  grace  of  God,  reformed 
his  own  spirit.  He  who  desires  to  bring  men  to  the  stand- 
ard of  the  gospel  should  himself  possess  a  patient  and  benev- 
olent spirit.  Jesus  Christ  is  not  more  really  the  Saviour, 
than  he  is  the  Reformer,  of  the  world.  And  yet  how  won- 
derfully does  he  combine  the  spirit  of  meekness  and  patience 
with  the  utmost  faithfulness  and  with  untiring  labor ! 

It  would  not  be  difficult,  as  it  seems  to  us,  to  support  the 
statements  which  have  now  been  made,  by  a  reference  to 
published  writings  and  to  well-known  sacrifices  and  labors. 
The  writings  and  labors  of  the  Quietists,  few  and  feeble  as 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  347 

those  comparatively  were  who  bore  that  name,  would  not 
have  produced  such  a  sensation  in  Europe,  if  they  had  not 
touched  and  probed  some  long-existing  evils.  In  the  list 
of  modern  reformers,  of  those  who  have  aimed  at  entire 
religious  toleration  and  at  the  highest  results  of  civil  and 
religious  progress,  Fenelon  certainly  is  entitled  to  a  highly 
honorable  place. 

16.  One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Quietists,  and  which 
undoubtedly  has  some  connection  with  the  origin  of  the 
name,  is  what  their  writers  have  denominated  the  permanent 
or  continuous  state.  They  sometimes  denominate  it  the 
fixed  state.  They  do  not  mean  by  this  a  state  which  is  ab- 
solutely immutable ;  although,  when  it  is  once  reached,  it  is 
not  very  likely  to  change ;  but  a  state  which  is  established 
and  at  rest  in  itself  by  a  continuity  of  nature.  It  is  a  state 
in  which  the  will  of  the  individual  is  so  perfectly  lost  in 
the  will  of  God,  that  he  desires  nothing,  seeks  nothing,  asks 
nothing,  will  receive  nothing,  out  of  that  divine  will,  either 
for  himself  or  others.  But  this  is  not  all.  This  sweet 
union  with  the  will  of  God  is  not  a  union  which  is  com- 
pressed and  forced,  as  it  were,  by  the  pressure  of  many  and 
urgent  motives,  but  has  become  entirely  natural ;  —  secured, 
without  the  hindrances  of  internal  jarring  and  clamor,  by  a 
free,  entire,  and  holy  consent.  A  soul  in  this  state  is  estab- 
lished and  fixed  in  its  rest ;  because,  wanting  nothing,  it  has 
all  things. 

This  state  is  so  simple,  and,  though  it  is  probably  made  up 
of  successive  distinct  acts,  is  so  continuously  uniform  in  its 
character,  that  persons  who  have  reached  it  are  frequently 
very  much  tempted  in  relation  to  it,  as  if  it  were  not  a  right 
state.  In  having  all  things,  it  seems  to  them  as  if  they  had  lost 
every  thing.  So  much  so,  that  they  attempt,  much  as  they 
did  in  the  earlier  stages  of  their  experience,  to  originate  other 
states,  to  give  themselves  away  in  new  acts  of  consecration. 


348  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

to  array  before  themselves  new  motives  of  action,  to  exercise 
compunction,  gratitude,  and  other  distinct  feelings ;  forgetting 
that  they  are  all  virtually  but  really  involved  in  this  simpler 
but  higher  state.  It  is  this  state  of  mind  to  which  Madame 
de  Chantal  refers,  in  a  letter  to  Francis  de  Sales,  in  which 
she  says  she  no  longer  finds  it  profitable  to  form  new  acts  of 
union  with  God,  as  if  it  were  a  thing  not  yet  done,  but  only 
to  remain  united  with  him ;  —  to  be,  to  continue  quiet, 
just  where  she  now  is,  namely,  in  that  divine  unity,  which, 
in  really  existing,  is  no  longer  a  thing  to  be  done.  This 
remaining  in  divine  unity  by  a  continuous  and  uniform  act 
of  the  soul,  or  by  such  a  series  of  uniform  acts  as  establish 
a  uniformity  of  character,  without  any  movement  or  ten- 
dency to  separate  from  it,  can  never  take  place  without  the 
supports  of  the  highest  possible  faith.  Blessed  is  he  who 
has  such  faith,  and  such  depth  and  permanency  of  inward 
peace !  Persons  cannot  be  in  the  state  of  deep  and  pure 
rest,  denominated  the  continuous  act,  or  the  continuous 
state,  without  inspiring  the  outward  action  with  the  traits 
and  beauty  of  the  inward  spirit. 

Some  explanations  of  this  remarkable  state  may  be  found 
in  the  Spiritual  Guide  of  Molinos,  in  the  experimental  and 
practical  writings  of  Falconi,  in  Madame  Guyon,  and  in  the 
life  of  Gregory  Lopez. 

17.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  although  it  is  entirely  in  ac- 
cordance with  those  traits  of  character  which  have  already 
been  intimated,  that  those  who  are  in  this  experience  suffer 
and  die,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  in  silence.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  things  in  the  history  of  Christ.  When 
he  was  examined  before  Pontius  Pilate,  he  answered  not  a 
word.  In  the  language  of  the  evangelical  prophet,  "He 
was  oppressed  and  afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth" 

Michael  de  Molinos,  taking  him  as  an  illustration  of  what 
was  true  in  other  cases,  had  lived  for  his  fellow-men.     It  is 


OF    MADAME    GTJYON  349 

an  evidence  of  the  greatness  of  his  labors  for  others,  that, 
when  possession  was  taken  of  his  papers,  there  were  found 
among  them  letters  from  persons  desiring  information  on 
religious  subjects,  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand.  He 
was  tried,  condemned,  and  shut  up  in  the  dungeons  of  the 
Inquisition ;  where,  after  the  expiration  of  twelve  years,  he 
closed  his  life.*  But  he  uttered  no  cry,  made  no  resistance, 
poured  forth  no  denunciations.  It  is  affecting  to  see  with 
what  calmness  and  entire  faith  in  God,  he  enters  that  dun- 
geon door,  from  which  he  knew  there  was  no  return. 
Taking  by  the  hand  the  friar  who  attended  him,  and  who 
was  one  of  his  opposers,  he  merely  said,  "  Farewell ;  —  at 
the  day  of  judgment  we  shall  see  each  other  again ;  and 
then  it  will  appear  on  which  side  truth  is,  whether  on 
yours  or  on  mine."  Whether  honored  or  dishonored, 
whether  in  freedom  or  in  prison,  he  could  say,  it  is  all  well. 
He  knew  in  a  sense,  which  brought  the  purest  peace  into 
his  heart,  that  the  agents  in  his  humiliation  and  suffering 
were  but  the  executioners  of  a  divine  purpose,  which  was 
full  of  wisdom  and  goodness. 

IB.  The  same  sweet  serenity,  the  same  peaceful  resig- 
nation, is  seen  in  La  Combe,  in  Alleaume  and  Bureau,  in 
Falconi,  in  Fenelon,  in  the  Countess  Vespiniani,  in  Madame 
de  Maisonfort,  in  Madame  Guyon,  and  in  others  who  suffered 
in  Spain  and  Italy  as  well  as  in  France.  They  were  willing, 
that  the  purposes  of  God  should  be  accomplished  in  them 
by  suffering.  "  Deny,"  says  La  Combe,  "  all  desire,  all  in- 
clination and  tendency  of  mind,  all  attachment  whatever, 
which  is  not  from  God.  Desire  nothing  but  the  knowledge 
of  God's  will,  and  the  disposition  to  do  and  suffer  it."  Hav- 
ing the  Saviour's  divine  heart  of  acquiescence  and  love,  it 
was  easy  for  them,  as  they  looked  on  their  persecutors,  to 

*  See  the  IVf emoirs  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XIV.  by  Dangeau. 
VOL.  IT.  30 


350  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

utter  the  Saviour's  expressions,  Father,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do.  Without  making  the  assertion 
as  an  absolute  one,  it  is  true,  as  a  general  statement  at  least, 
that  they  had  resignation  for  themselves,  pity  for  their  ene- 
mies, praises  for  the  Lord,  and  complaints  for  no  one. 

19.  Ecclesiastical  history  shows  how  frequently  the  ad- 
vocates of  pure  or  perfect  love,  resulting  in  a  divine  quiet- 
ness of  spirit,  have  made  their  appearance ;  —  and  how 
much,  until  a  recent  period,  they  have  suffered  under  the 
charge  of  heretical  deviation.  Those  who  have  been  the 
subjects  of  this  transforming  experience  have  felt  bound, 
with  however  little  prospect  of  its  being  accepted,  to  give 
their  testimony.  With  this  inward  sense  of  obligation  to 
declare  what  they  knew,  they  appeared  in  Catalonia  in 
Spain,  about  the  year  1352 ;  and  were  suppressed  through 
the  efforts  chiefly  of  Sanci,  archbishop  of  Tarragon,  and 
Nicholas  Rosetti,  the  Inquisitor.  They  again  appeared  in 
1623,  in  the  province  of  Andalusia;  particularly  at  Seville, 
the  capital  of  the  province.  Andrew  Pachecho,  bishop  of 
Seville,  who  held  at  that  time  the  office  of  Inquisitor- Gene- 
ral of  Spain,  employed  very  severe  measures  against  them. 
Many  were  either  formally  banished,  or  fied  to  distant 
places  to  avoid  the  keen  pursuit  of  the  Inquisitors.  Seven 
of  the  leading  persons  among  them  were  burnt  at  the  stake. 
But  here,  as  in  Italy  and  France,  and  in  other  kingdoms 
and  periods,  we  see  the  same  triumphant  faith,  the  same 
holy  and  universal  love ;  in  a  word,  that  blessed  spirit  of 
resignation  and  benevolence,  which  "  loves  its  enemies, 
blesses  them  that  curse  us,  does  good  to  them  that  hate  us, 
and  prays  for  them  which  despitefully  use  us  and  persecute 
us."  This,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  true  test  of  a  perfected 
Christianity.* 

*  See  Dictionnaire  Historique  des  Cultes  Religieux.     Art.  Illuming.  - 
Also,  Relation  dn  Quietisme,  Pt.  2d,  pp.  16,  91. 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  351 

20.  Is  it  thus,  in  an  equal  degree,  in  others  who  have 
suffered  for  Christ  ?  When  the  Waldenses  passed  through 
that  fiery  trial,  the  story  of  which  forms  one  of  the  most 
thrilling  chapters  of  history,  the  cry  of  vengeance  went 
through  Europe.  Milton  wrote  his  sublime  sonnet.  Crom- 
well pointed  his  terrible  thunder. 

"Avenge,  0  Lord  !  thy  slaughtered  ones,  whose  bones 
Lie  scatter'd  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold." 

When  the  celebrated  religious  establishment  of  Port  Royal 
in  France  was  destroyed,  and  its  inmates  were  driven  out 
and  scattered  abroad  never  more  to  return,  they  uttered  the 
wail  of  their  sorrow  wherever  they  went.  The  infirm  old 
nun,  ninety  years  of  age,  the  last  that  left  those  hallowed 
precincts,  lifted  her  withered  hand,  and  exclaimed  in  terrific 
accents  to  Monsieur  d'Argenson,  the  agent  of  the  king  :  — 
"  To-day,  sir,  is  the  hour  of  man ;  but  be  assured,  that 
another  day,  the  day  of  God's  righteous  retribution,  is  not 
far  distant."  As  the  residents  of  those  dear  abodes  of  piety 
and  learning  cast  their  last  looks  upon  ruined  walls  and 
desolated  fields,  they  applied  the  language  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, "  O  God  !  the  heathen  are  come  into  thine  inheritance ; 
thy  holy  temple  have  they  defiled,  and  made  Jerusalem  a 
heap  of  stones."  Bitter  and  terrible  were  their  denuncia- 
tions of  the  king ;  —  the  same  Louis  the  Fourteenth  who 
had  so  often  closed  the  dungeons  of  Vincennes  and  the  Bastille 
on  the  Lord's  people.  And  when  they  heard  the  victories 
of  their  country's  enemies,  the  victories  of  Hochstet  and 
Ramillies,  and  when  they  learned  the  desolation  in  the  king's 
family,  the  death  of  his  son,  and  of  his  son's  son,  and  of  the 
duke  of  Brittany,  the  three  successive  heirs  of  the  throne, 
all  dying  suddenly  and  awfully,  it  seemed  to  them,  that  the 
loud  cry  of  their  anguish  and  of  their  prayer  was  answered, 
and  they  rejoiced  in  the  vengeance  which  had  come  on  their 
oppressor. 


352  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

21.  And  the  question  arises  here,  as  it  has  often  arisen : 
—  Can  we  expect  any  thing  other,  or  any  thing  better,  than 
this  ?  Is  it  possible  for  human  nature,  even  when  aided  by 
divine  grace,  to  rise  to  such  a  height,  that  it  can  not  only 
smile  in  the  midst  of  its  own  sufferings,  but  ask  for  peace 
and  blessing  to  its  enemies  ?  However  this  question  may  be 
answered,  we  know  that  such  was  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  and 
we  know  also,  that  such  ought  to  be,  and  must  be,  the  spirit 
of  those  who  are  fully  formed  into  the  image  of  their  Master 
and  elder  Brother. 

22.  It  is  this  patient  and  forgiving  spirit,  the  result  of  the 
experience  and  of  the  sanctifying  power  of  pure  love,  which 
gives  its  Christian  consistency  and  beauty  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  Quietists.  The  same  Louis  who  demolished  Port 
Royal,  and  banished  the  Huguenots,  laid  his  heavy  hand  on 
Fenelon  ;  deprived  him  of  his  offices  and  honors  ;  exiled 
him  from  all  cities  and  places  out  of  the  limits  of  Cambray ; 
disgraced,  imprisoned,  and  banished  his  friends ;  and  exerted 
his  power  in  exacting  an  ecclesiastical  condemnation  from 
the  unwilling  court  of  Rome.  But  such  was  the  power 
of  the  religious  principles  which  Fenelon  had  adopted,  and 
of  his  personal  experience,  that  this  unkind  and  cruel  treat- 
ment called  forth  no  unkind  emotions  in  return.  He  gives 
us  to  understand,  in  writing  to  the  duke  of  Beauvilliers,  that 
he  thinks  much  of  the  imperfect  education  of  the  king  in 
early  life,  of  the  great  temptations  to  which  he  is  exposed  at 
the  present  time,  of  the  influences  unfavorable  to  an  ex- 
panded and  correct  view  of  religious  things,  which  are 
brought  to  bear  upon  him ;  —  circumstances  which  call 
forth  his  sympathy  and  pity  ;  —  and  that  he  makes  him  the 
subject  of  earnest  prayer. 

23.  And  this  simple  and  affecting  statement,  which  is 
similar  to  what  we  find  repeatedly  in  the  experience  and 
statements  of  Madame  Guyon,  illustrates  the  feelings  of  all 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  353 

those  who  are  in  a  similar  state  of  mind.  Their  souls  are 
transferred  to  a  new  position ;  and  they  behold  all  things  in 
God.  It  is  not  so  much  they  who  are  smitten  by  their  enemies, 
as  God  who  is  smitten  through  them.  To  the  world,  there- 
fore, they  make  no  appeal.  To  any  human  arm  they  dare 
not  look.  The  voice  they  utter  is  a  voice  unheard  by  men. 
Their  heart  and  their  eye  are  steady  to  the  eternal  throne ; 
and  they  accept  no  comfort,  no  wisdom,  no  strength,  which 
has  not  God  for  its  author.  And  it  is  not  presumptuous  to 
say,  that  they  are  right.  This,  undoubtedly,  is  the  true 
secret  of  inward  and  holy  living,  —  to  close  our  eyes  and 
ears,  our  thoughts  and  desires,  to  every  source  of  consolation 
and  help  which  is  not  found  in  God  alone. 

And  this  is  not  all.  When  we  go  to  God,  it  seems  to  be 
necessary  that  we  should  go  to  him  not  to  fulfil  our  pur- 
poses but  his.  It  must  be  our  prayer,  not  so  much  that  he 
may  spare  our  pangs  or  increase  our  comforts,  as  that  he 
may  glorify  himself.  Our  hopes  and  fears,  our  joys  and 
sorrows,  our  friendships  and  enmities,  should  all  be  laid  low, 
and  be  made  equal  in  him,  who  is  the  All  in  All. 

24.  It  seemed  to  be  but  justice  and  truth,  to  speak  thus 
favorably  of  those  who  have  borne  the  name  of  Quietists. 
History,  which  is  often  written  by  men  allied  to  particular 
sects  and  parties,  has  covered  them  with  reproach.  No 
people,  as  it  seems  to  us,  were  ever  more  closely  united  with 
God ;  and  yet,  if  we  were  at  liberty  to  believe  the  state- 
ments of  polemics  and  ecclesiastical  annalists,  we  should 
reckon  them  among  the  weakest,  if  not  among  the  worst,  of 
persons.  They  themselves,  however,  ask  no  defender.  The 
life  they  live  "  is  by  faith  on  the  Son  of  God ;"  —  and  he 
who  can  trust  his  soul  with  Christ,  need  not  hesitate  to  trust 
his  reputation.  From  the  beginning  they  have  committed 
their  cause  to  him  in  whom  they  have  believed ;  —  in  full 
confidence  that  he  would  raise  up  those,  in  his  own  good 

vol.  n.  30* 


354  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

time,  who  would  do  justice  to  their  principles.  Before  that 
time  they  neither  ask,  nor  are  willing  to  receive  any  de- 
fence ;  —  and  least  of  all  do  they  desire  cr  need  any 
panegyric.  It  was  the  motto  of  Fenelon,  Ama  nesciri, 
Love  to  he  unknown. 

25.  Under  the  name  of  Quietist,  no  new  party,  no  addi- 
tional sect,  will  or  can  arise.  The  word  sect,  like  the  word 
party,  implies  division.  Holy  love,  which  is  the  foundation 
of  those  traits  that  characterize  the  man  of  a  truly  meek  and 
quiet  spirit,  seeks  and  tends  to  unity.  It  is  a  pleasing  and 
auspicious  circumstance,  that  those  who  possess  a  truly 
humble  and  acquiescent  spirit,  founded  on  such  love,  are 
found,  from  time  to  time,  in  many  sects.  The  principle  of 
supreme  love,  therefore,  which  brings  every  inward  evil 
into  subjection,  may  exist  in  connection  with  speculative 
differences ;  especially  such  as  relate  to  the  outward  forms 
or  ceremonials  of  religion.  Faith  in  God  through  the 
Saviour  seems  to  be  all  that  is  necessary. 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  great  Quietist.  It  is  his  elevation 
above  human  passion,  which  stamps  him  as  divine.  And  it 
is  Christ  who  gives  us  strength  to  realize  in  ourselves  his 
own  image.  Study  his  life,  and  see  what  transcendent 
beauty  and  power  are  found  lodged  in  a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit.  Follow  him,  and  mark  him  in  all  situations,  from 
the  weakness  of  the  manger  to  the  matured  and  agonizing 
sufferings  of  the  cross  ;  —  and  behold  the  moral  beauty  of 
him  who,  in  all  trials  and  sorrows,  in  all  temptations  and 
oppositions,  is  still  a  conqueror  over  himself.  His  own 
words  have  pronounced  a  blessing  upon  that  meekness  which 
was  the  great  ornament  of  his  divine  life.  He  has  told  us 
to  learn  of  him  ;  —  and,  in  assigning  a  reason  for  this  direc- 
tion, he  has  announced  the  leading  trait  of  his  character : 
"  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  Me  ;  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  of  heart  ;  and  ye  shall  find  rest  to  your  souls." 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  355 


PRINCIPLES  AND  MAXIMS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  INWARD 
LIFE,  COLLECTED  AND  RE-ARRANGED  FROM  THE  WRIT- 
INGS   OF   MOLINOS. 

I. 

Happy  wilt  thou  be,  if  thou  hast  no  thought  but  to  die  to 
thyself.  Thou  wilt  then  become  victorious,  not  only  over 
thine  enemies,  but,  what  is  more,  victorious  over  thine  own 
evil  nature.  A  victory,  in  which  thou  canst  not  fail  to  find 
a  great  increase  of  spiritual  wisdom,  the  experience  of  pure 
love  and  perfect  peace. 

ii. 

And,  to  this  end,  be  not  afraid  of  those  trials  which  God 
may  see  fit  to  send  upon  thee.  It  is  with  the  wind  and  the 
storm  of  tribulation  that  God,  in  the  garner  of  the  soul, 
separates  the  true  wheat  from  the  chaff.  Always  remember, 
therefore,  that  God  comes  to  thee  in  thy  sorrows,  as  really 
as  in  thy  joys.  He  lays  low,  and  he  builds  up.  Thou  wilt 
find  thyself  far  from  perfection,  if  thou  dost  not  find  God  in 
every  thing. 

hi. 

Seek  not  consolation,  but  God.  Desire  of  God  only  one 
thing,  that  thou  mayst  spend  thy  life  for  his  sake  in  true 
obedience  and  subjection.  The  way  in  which  our  blessed 
Saviour  trod  was  not  one  of  softness  and  sweetness.  Nor 
did  he  invite  us  to  any  such,  either  by  his  words  or  his  ex- 
ample, when  he  said,  "  He  that  will  come  after  me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 

IV. 

Resign  and  deny  thyself  wholly;  for,  though  true  self- 
denial  is  harsh  at  the  beginning,  it  is  easy  in  the  middle,  and 
becomes  most  sweet  in  the  end. 


356  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

V. 

If  thou  wouldst  arrive  at  the  sublime  region  of  internal 
peace,  thou  must  pass  through  the  rugged  path,  not  only  of 
outward  trials,  but  of  inward  temptation.  Temptation  also 
is  for  thy  good.  In  such  an  hour  of  trial,  stand  firm.  When 
temptation  assaults  thee,  put  on  the  weighty  armor  of  resig- 
nation, of  constancy,  and  of  quietness ;  —  and  thus  purge, 
renew,  and  purify  thyself  in  this  burning  furnace. 

VI. 

Among  other  holy  counsels  which  thou  must  observe,  re- 
member well  this  that  follows :  Look  not  so  much  on  other 
men's  faults  as  on  thine  own.  Thou  knowest  thine  own 
faults,  but  it  is  difficult  to  know  the  true  nature  and  degree 
of  the  faults  of  others.  A  disposition  to  judge  others  turns 
the  soul  from  its  true  centre  in  God,  brings  it  outward,  and 
takes  away  its  repose.     "Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged." 

VII. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  be  able  to  live  a  life  of  holi- 
ness, —  a  life  which  depends  entirely  upon  the  wisdom  and 
support  which  are  communicated  from  God,  —  if  he  does 
not  first  die  to  himself  by  a  total  denial  of  all  wrong  appe- 
tites and  passions,  and  by  the  crucifixion  of  the  pride  of 
natural  reason. 

VIII. 

The  soul  which  is  thus  purified  is  always  quiet  and 
serene,  always  possessed  of  evenness  of  mind,  both  in  favors 
and  sufferings.  Tribulations  never  disturb  it ;  —  nor  do  the 
interior,  the  continual  and  divine  communications  from  God 
render  it  vain  and  conceited.  It  remains  in  wonderful 
serenity  and  peace,  but  still  always  full  of  holy  and  filial 
reverence. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  357 

IX. 

It  is  in  such  purified  and  quiet  souls,  that  God  hath  his 
place  of  repose ;  —  souls  in  whom  the  waters  of  affliction 
have  washed  out  the  dark  stains  of  inordinate  appetite; 
souls  in  whom  the  fires  of  tribulation  and  of  inward  tempta- 
tion have  consumed  the  remains  of  earthly  passion.  In 
other  words,  God  reposes  himself  nowhere,  but  where  self- 
love  is  banished  and  quietness  reigns. 


Be  silent,  and  believe.  Hold  thy  peace,  and  let  thyself 
be  guided  by  the  hand  of  God.  Suffer  in  patience,  and  walk 
on  in  strong  faith ;  —  and  though  it  seems  to  thee,  that  thou 
doest  nothing,  and  art  idle,  being  so  dumb  and  resigned,  yet 
it  is  of  infinite  fruit.  The  blinded  beast  that  turns  the  wheel 
of  the  mill,  though  it  seeth  not,  neither  knows  what  it  does, 
yet  it  doeth  a  great  work  in  grinding  the  corn. 

XI. 

Be  nothing  in  thyself,  that  thou  mayst  be  strong  in  the 
Lord.  When  thou  art  nothing,  thou  canst  experience  no 
harm  that  will  trouble  thee.  How  is  it  possible  for  him  to 
experience  a  grievance  or  injury,  who  thinks  nothing  of  him- 
self, and  has  no  interest  of  his  own,  but  refers  all  things  to 
God! 

XII. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  silence.  Silence  from  words  is 
good,  because  inordinate  speaking  tends  to  evil.  Silence  or 
rest  from  desires  and  passions  is  still  better,  because  it  pro- 
motes quietness  of  spirit.  But  the  best  of  all,  is  silence  from 
unnecessary  and  wandering  thoughts,  because  that  is  essen- 
tial to  internal  recollection,  and  because  it  lays  a  foundation 
for  a  proper  regulation  and  silence  in  other  respects. 


358  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

XIII. 

Let  nothing  affright  thee.  All  things  will  pass  away. 
God  only  is  he  that  is  unchangeable.  Patience  will  bring 
about  all.  He  that  hath  God,  hath  all  things  ;  and  he,  that 
hath  him  not,  hath  nothing. 


The  following  selections  from  Cowper's  translations  of 
the  poems  of  Madame  Guyon,  are  translations  of  Gantiques 
22  and  78,  of  volume  second  of  her  poems. 

TRUTH   AND    DIVINE    LOVE   REJECTED    BY   THE   "WORLD. 

O  Love,  of  pure  and  heavenly  birth ! 
0  simple  Truth,  scarce  known  on  earth ! 
Whom  men  resist  with  stubborn  will ;  — 
And,  more  perverse  and  daring  still, 
Smother  and  quench  with  reasonings  vain, 
While  error  and  deception  reign. 

Whence  comes  it,  that  your  power  the  same 
As  His  on  high,  from  whom  you  came, 
Ye  rarely  find  a  listening  ear, 
Or  heart,  that  makes  you  welcome  here  ?  — 
Because  ye  bring  reproach  and  pain, 
Where'er  ye  visit,  in  your  train. 

The  world  is  proud,  and  cannot  bear 
The  scorn  and  calumny  ye  share ;  — 
The  praise  of  men,  the  mark  they  mean, 
They  fly  the  place  where  ye  are  seen. 
Pure  love,  with  scandal  in  the  rear, 
Suits  not  the  vain ;  it  costs  too  dear. 

Then  let  the  price  be  what  it  may, 
Though  poor,  I  am  prepared  to  pay ;  — 


OP   MADAME    GUYON.  35» 

Come  shame,  come  sorrow ;  spite  of  tears, 
Weakness,  and  heart-oppressing  fears ;  — 
One  soul,  at  least,  shall  not  repine 
To  give  you  room :  come,  reign  in  mine ! 


THE    TESTIMONY    OF   DIVINE   ADOPTION, 

How  happy  are  the  new-born  race, 
Partakers  of  adopting  grace  ! 

How  pure  the  bliss  they  share  ! 
Hid  from  the  world  and  all  its  eyes, 
Within  their  heart  the  blessing  lies, 

And  conscience  feels  it  there. 

The  moment  we  believe,  'tis  ours ; 
And  if  we  love  with  all  our  powers 

The  God  from  whom  it  came, 
And  if  we  serve  with  hearts  sincere, 
'Tis  still  discernible  and  clear, 

An  undisputed  claim. 

But  ah  !   if  foul  and  wilful  sin 
Stain  and  dishonor  us  within, 

Farewell  the  joy  we  knew ; 
Again  the  slaves  of  Nature's  sway, 
In  lab'rinths  of  our  own  we  stray, 

Without  a  guide  or  clue. 

The  chaste  and  pure,  who  fear  to  grievo 
The  gracious  Spirit  they  receive, 

His  work  distinctly  trace  ; 
And  strong  in  undissembling  love, 
Boldly  assert,  and  clearly  prove, 

Their  hearts  his  dwelling  place. 

O  messenger  of  dear  delight ! 

Whose  voice  dispels  the  deepest  night, 


360  LIFE,    ETC. 

Sweet,  peace-proclaiming  Dove ! 
With  thee  at  hand  to  soothe  our  pains, 
No  wish  unsatisfied  remains, 

No  task  but  that  of  love. 

'T  is  love  unites  what  sin  divides ; 
The  centre  where  all  bliss  resides ; 

To  which  the  soul  once  brought, 
Reclining  on  the  first  great  Cause, 
From  his  abounding  sweetness  draws 

Peace,  passing  human  thought. 

Sorrow  foregoes  its  nature  there, 
And  life  assumes  a  tranquil  air, 

Divested  of  its  woes ; 
There,  sovereign  goodness  soothes  the  breast, 
Till  then,  incapable  of  rest, 

In  sacred  sure  repose. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

On  the  religion  of  prisons.  Madame  Guyon  released  in  1 702,  after 
four  years'  imprisonment  in  the  Bastille.  Banished  during  the 
remainder  of  her  life  to  the  city  of  Blois.  Her  state  of  health. 
Visited  at  Blois  by  many  persons,  foreigners  as  well  as  others. 
Publication  of  her  Autobiography.  Her  feelings  towards  her 
enemies.  Extract  from  Thauler.  Her  religious  state  at  this 
time.  Letters  written  near  the  close  of  her  life.  Remarks  on  her 
character.  Address  to  her  spiritual  children.  Sickness  and 
death. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  prisons  are  the 
abodes  of  wicked  men  merely.  This  certainly  was  not  the 
case  with  the  Bastille.  When  piety,  under  the  name  of 
heresy,  becomes  a  crime,  the  prayers  and  tears  of  the  dun- 
geon are  as  likely  to  be  acceptable  to  God,  as  those  that 
arise  within  the  walls  of  a  church.  It  is  a  matter  of  histori- 
cal record,  that,  in  the  course  of  the  year  1686,  a  few  years 
before  the  imprisonment  of  Madame  Guyon,  one  hundred 
and  forty-seven  persons,  almost  all  of  them  Huguenot  Prot- 
estants, against  whom  nothing  could  be  brought  except  the 
peculiarities  of  their  religion,  were  sent  to  the  Bastille  alone. 
In  the  year  1689,  the  number,  made  up  chiefly  of  members 
of  the  same  religious  sect,  was  sixty-one ;  persons  who 
showed  the  sincerity  of  their  faith  by  their  sufferings,  and 
who  esteemed  their  liberty  less  than  their  religion.  A  full 
history  of  the    Bastille   would    illustrate   the    virtues    and 

VOL.  II.  31 


3G2  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

sufferings   of   the   Jansenists,   as    well   as   of   the    Hugue- 
nots.* 

2.  Madame  Guyon  was  in  the  Bastille  four  years ;  im- 
prisoned in  1698,  and  liberated  in  1702.  At  the  time  of  her 
liberation,  she  was  fifty- four  years  of  age.  She  was  allowed, 
after  her  release  from  prison,  to  visit  her  daughter,  the 
Countess  of  Vaux,  who  resided  either  in  Paris  or  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  But  the  associations  connected  with  her 
personal  history  and  name  were  such,  and  such  was  the  in- 
fluence she  was  still  capable  of  exerting,  that  she  was  per- 
mitted to  remain  there  only  for  a  short  time.  Her  afflictions, 
without  ceasing  to  exist,  assumed  a  new  form.  The  sorrows 
of  a  distant  exile  followed  the  anguish  of  solitary  imprison- 
ment. She  was  banished  to  Blois,  a  considerable  city, 
situated  one  hundred  miles  south-west  from  Paris,  on  the 
river  Loire. 

This  city  is  one  of  ancient  date,  beautiful  in  its  location, 
and  of  some  historical  celebrity ;  but  it  is  not  known  what 
particular  reasons  induced  the  king  to  select  it  as  the  place 
of  her  banishment,  in  preference  to  any  other.  The  dispo- 
sition which  was  now  made  of  her  was  final.  Her  banish- 
ment was  for  life  ;  but  it  was  some  consolation  to  her,  that 
her  eldest  son,  Armand  Jaques  Guyon,  was  settled  with  his 
family  either  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  or  at  a  place  not 
far  distant ;  —  which  gave  her  an  opportunity  of  seeing  him 
from  time  to  time. 

3.  From  this  time,  the  year  1703,  to  the  period  of  her 
death,  in  1717,  her  life  ceased  to  be  diversified  with  inci- 
dents which  it  would  be  particularly  important  or  interest- 
ing to  lay  before  the  reader.  The  extreme  deprivations  and 
trials  of  the  Bastille  had  effectually  broken  a  constitution 


*  Davenport's  History  of  the  Bastille  and  of  its  principal  captives, 
ehs.  viii.  x. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  363 

which  was  but  feeble  before.  Few  could  have  withstood, 
even  so  well  as  she  did,  those  solitary  hours,  in  which  day 
and  night  were  hardly  distinguished  from  each  other,  those 
damp  walls,  the  colds  of  winter  and  the  impure  heats  of 
summer.  Her  advanced  age,  therefore,  combined  with  her 
ill  health,  prevented  her  from  engaging  in  those  works  of 
outward  benevolence  which  had  illustrated  the  earlier  part 
of  her  life. 

In  a  passage  which  she  wrote  during  this  period,  she 
says  :  —  "  My  life  is  consecrated  to  God,  to  suffer  for  him, 
as  well  as  to  enjoy  him.  I  came  out  of  my  place  of  confine- 
ment in  the  Bastille  ;  but,  in  leaving  my  prison,  I  did  not 
leave  the  cross.  My  afflicted  spirit  began  to  breathe  and 
recover  itself  a  little  after  the  termination  of  my  residence 
there ;  but  my  body  was  from  that  time  sick  and  borne 
down  with  all  sorts  of  infirmities.  I  have  had  almost  con- 
tinual maladies,  which  have  often  brought  me  to  the  very 
verge  of  death." 

The  long  period  of  her  banishment  was  thus  added  to 
the  long  period  of  her  imprisonment,  during  which  she  was 
called  to  glorify  God  by  submission  and  by  private  prayer, 
rather  than  by  active  labors.  She  did  not,  however,  cease 
to  be  useful.  She  glorified  God  by  her  patience  under  suf- 
ferings, and  also  by  her  more  private  efforts  in  conversing 
with  others,  and  by  her  written  correspondence. 

4.  Numbers  of  religious  people,  some  from  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  among  others  some  persons  of  high  rank  from 
Germany  and  England,  came  to  see  her.  They  had  heard 
of  her  labors  and  sufferings  ;  and  came  either  to  receive  the 
benefit  of  her  conversation  and  instructions,  or  to  pay  the 
homage  of  sincere  respect  to  her  character.  It  was  through 
the  instrumentality  of  some  one  of  these  persons,  whose 
name  is  not  now  known,  thaA,  her  Autobiography,  from  which 


364  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

a  considerable  portion  of  the  facts  of  this  narrative  are 
drawn,  was  first  published. 

She  wrote  it,  in  the  first  instance,  at  the  suggestion  and 
under  the  direction  of  her  confessor,  La  Combe ;  but  with- 
out any  design  or  expectation  that  it  would  see  the  light. 
But  such  had  been  the  dispensations  of  providence  in  rela- 
tion to  her,  such  had  been  her  labors  and  afflictions,  which 
had  become  identified,  to  some  extent,  with  the  general  in- 
terests of  religion,  that  she  at  last  felt  it  her  duty  to  consent 
to  its  publication ;  —  with  one  condition  only,  that  it  should 
not  be  published  until  after  her  death.  Having  reexamined 
and  corrected  it,  she  placed  it,  near  the  close  of  her  life,  in 
the  hands  of  an  English  gentleman  of  rank  ;  —  one  of  those 
who  visited  her  from  religious  motives  at  Blois,  and  in 
whom  she  had  entire  confidence.  After  her  death  he  took 
measures  for  its  publication.* 

5.  In  one  of  the  passages  near  the  close  of  her  Biography, 
written  at  this  period  of  her  life,  she  speaks  of  the  great 
numbers  of  persons  who  came  to  see  her,  and  of  the  conver- 
sations which  she  had  with  them.  Religion,  almost  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  other  topics,  was  the  great  subject  of  her  discourse. 
Forgetful  of  herself,  she  regulated  her  remarks  exclusively 
by  a  regard  to  the  spiritual  state  and  the  wants  of  those 
who  thus  had  interviews  with  her.  It  would  not  be  easy  to 
estimate  the  good  she  was  capable  of  doing,  and  which  she 
was  actually  the  means  of  doing,  in  this  way. 

There  is  some  reason  to  suppose,  that  she  was  closely 
watched  during  the  period  of  her  banishment ;  and  among 
the  great  number  who  came  to  see  her,  it  is  probable  that 
some  came  with  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  ensnaring  her 
in  her  words.     To  this  she  refers  when  she  says  :  —  "I  am 

*  See  the  Preface  to  the  French  edition  of  her  Life,  printed  at  Paris. 
1791. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  365 

not  afraid  of  the  snares  which  any  of  those  who  come  to  see 
me  endeavor  to  lay  for  me.  Conscious  of  my  own  inno- 
cence and  uprightness,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  take  those 
precautions  which  a  merely  worldly  wisdom  might  suggest. 
I  leave  all  with  God.  O  worldly  prudence  !  How  opposite 
do  I  find  thee  to  the  single  heart  and  the  simplicity  of  Jesus 
Christ !  I  leave  thee  to  thy  partisans.  As  for  me,  all  my 
prudence,  all  my  wisdom,  consists  in  following  Christ  in  his 
simple  and  lowly  appearance  and  conduct.  If  a  change  in 
my  conduct,  and  a  resort  to  worldly  artifice,  would  make  me 
an  empress,  I  could  not  do  it.  Or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
simplicity  of  conduct  which  follows  God  and  trusts  in  God 
alone  were  to  cause  me  all  the  heaviest  sufferings,  I  could 
not  depart  from  it." 

6.  In  another  passage  of  her  work,  which  bears  the  date 
of  December,  1709,  she  says,  "  I  entreat  all  such  persons  as 
shall  read  this  narrative,  not  to  indulge  in  hard  or  embit- 
tered feelings  against  those  who  have  treated  me  with  un- 
kindness."  And,  in  support  of  this  earnest  request,  she 
quotes  the  following  passage  from  the  ninth  chapter  of  the 
Institutions  of  Thauler,  one  of  the  pious  authors  whom  she 
frequently  consulted :  — 

"  God,  willing  to  purify  a  soul  by  sufferings,  might  permit 
an  infinite  number  of  well-disposed  persons  to  fall  into  dark- 
ness and  blindness  towards  that  soul,  in  order  to  prepare 
this  chosen  vessel,  by  the  rash  bias  of  their  judgments  in 
such  a  state  of  ignorance  ;  but  at  last,  after  having  purified 
this  vessel,  it  would  not  be  surprising  if  he  should  take  away 
the  veil  sooner  or  later  from  their  eyes,  not  treating  them 
with  rigor  for  a  fault  which  they  have  committed  through 
the  hidden  conduct  of  his  adorable  providence.  I  say  much 
more,  that  sooner  would  God  send  an  angel  from  heaven, 
to  refine  this  chosen  vessel  through  tribulations,  than  leave 
it  without  sufferings/' 

vol.  ir.  3)  * 


366  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

7.  The  following  statements,  which  are  to  be  found  near 
the  close  of  her  Autobiography,  will  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  the  state  of  her  religious  feelings  at  this  period.  "  In 
these  last  times,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  I  can  hardly 
speak  at  all  of  my  inward  dispositions.  The  reason  is,  that 
my  state  has  become  fixed;  —  simple  in  the  motives  which 
govern  it,  calm  in  its  reliance  on  God,  and  without  any  vari- 
ation. So  far  as  self  is  concerned,  it  may  be  described  as  a 
profound  annihilation.  I  see  nothing  in  myself,  nothing  of 
the  natural  operation  of  the  mind  distinct  from  the  grace 
of  God,  to  which  I  can  give  a  name.  All  that  I  know  is, 
that  God  is  infinitely  holy,  righteous,  and  happy ;  that  all 
goodness  is  in  him ;   and  that,  as  to  myself,  I  am  a  mere 

NOTHING. 

"  To  me  every  condition  seems  equal.  As  God  is  infi- 
nitely wise  and  happy,  all  my  wisdom  and  happiness  are 
in  him.  Every  thing  which,  in  the  state  of  nature,  I  should 
have  called  my  own,  is  now  lost  in  the  divine  immensity, 
like  a  drop  of  water  in  the  sea.  In  this  divine  immensity 
the  soul  sees  itself  no  more  as  a  separate  object:  but  it  dis- 
cerns every  object  in  God ;  without  discerning  or  knowing 
them  as  such  intellectually,  but  by  faith  and  by  the  affection- 
ate feelings  of  the  heart.  God  is  not  only  in  the  soul  itself, 
constituting  its  true  life,  but  is  in  every  thing  else.  Viewed 
in  relation  to  the  creature,  every  thing  is  dark  %  —  viewed  in 
relation  to  God,  every  thing  is  light ;  —  and  God  will  always 
enlighten  and  guide  those  who  are  truly  his,  so  far  as  is 
proper  and  of  real  advantage.  My  soul  is  in  such  a  state, 
that  God  permits  me  to  say,  that  there  is  no  dissatisfied 
clamor  in  it,  no  corroding  sorrow,  no  distracting  uncertainty, 
no  pleasure  of  earth,  and  no  pain  which  faith  does  not  con- 
vert into  pleasure ;  nothing  but  the  peace  of  God  which 
passes  understanding,  perfect  peace.  And  nothing  is  of  my- 
self, but  all  of  God. 


OF    MADAME    GUY  ON.  367 

8.  "  If  any  persons  think  there  is  any  good  in  me,  separ- 
ate from  God,  they  are  mistaken ;  and,  by  indulging  in  any 
such  thoughts,  they  do  injury  to  the  Lord  whom  I  love.  All 
good  is  in  him,  and  for  him.  The  greatest  satisfaction  I 
can  have  is  the  knowledge,  that  he  is  what  he  is  ;  and  that, 
being  what  he  is,  he  never  will  or  can  be  otherwise.  If  I 
am  saved  at  last,  it  will  be  the  free  gift  of  God ;  since  I  have 
no  worth  and  no  merit  ^  my  own.  And  in  the  deep  sense 
that  I  am  nothing  of  myself,  I  am  often  astonished  that  any 
persons  should  place  confidence  in  me.  I  have  often  made 
this  remark.  Nevertheless,  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  I 
have,  and  can  have,  no  will  of  my  own.  I  must  do  what  the 
Lord  would  have  me  do.  Although  poverty  and  nakedness 
belong  to  me  in  myself,  yet  God  helps  me  to  answer  and 
instruct  those  who  come  to  me,  without  difficulty.  Appro- 
priate words,  such  as  the  occasion  requires,  seem  to  be  given 
me  by  that  divine  Agent  who  rules  in  my  heart.  As  I  seek 
nothing  for  myself,  God  gives  me  all  that  is  necessary,  ap- 
parently without  seeking  or  studying  for  it. 

"  I  feel  much  for  the  good  of  souls.  It  seems  to  me  that  I 
should  be  willing,  in  my  own  person,  to  endure  the  greatest 
sufferings,  if  it  might  be  the  means  of  bringing  souls  to  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  God.  Whatever  wounds  the  church 
of  God  wounds  me.  Deeply  do  I  desire  her  prosperity. 
He  whom  my  soul  loves  keeps  me  by  his  grace,  in  great 
simplicity  and  sincerity  of  spirit.  I  have  but  one  motive, — 
that  of  God's  glory.  And  in  this  state  of  miiyl,  I  possess 
what  may  be  called  a  freedom  or  enlargedness  of  spirit, 
which  elevates  me  above  particular  interests  and  particular 
things  ;  so  that,  in  themselves  considered,  and  separate  from 
the  will  of  God,  such  particular  things,  whatever  they  may 
be,  and  whether  prosperous  or  adverse,  have  no  effect  upon 
me,  but  my  mind  entirely  triumphs  over  them." 

9.  Among  the  last  letters  which  she  wrote,  was  the  fol- 


368  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

lowing  to  her  brother,  Gregory  de  la  Mothe  ;  a  humble  and 
pious  man,  connected  in  some  way  with  the  religious  Order 
of  the  Carthusians.  Between  this  brother  and  Madame 
Guyon  there  seems  to  have  been  a  strong  mutual  confidence 
and  affection. 

«Blois, ,  1717. 

"  My  dear  Brother, 

"  The  letter  which  you  had  the  kindness  to  send  me 
was  received  in  due  time.  In  the  few  words  which  I  am  able 
to  return  in  answer,  permit  me  to  say :  —  separation  from 
outward  things,  the  crucifixion  of  the  world  in  its  external 
relations  and  attractions,  and  retirement  within  yourself,  are 
things  exceedingly  important  in  their  time.  They  constitute 
a  preparatory  work  ;  but  they  are  not  the  whole  work.  It 
is  necessary  to  go  a  step  further.  The  time  has  come  when 
you  are  not  only  to  retire  within  yourself,  but  to  retire  from 
yourself;  —  when  you  are  not  only  to  crucify  the  outward 
world,  but  to  crucify  the  inward  world  ;  to  separate  yourself 
absolutely  and  wholly  from  every  thing  which  is  not  God. 
Believe  me,  my  dear  brother,  you  will  never  find  rest  any 
where  else. 

"  The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  For  a  consider- 
able time  past,  I  have  had  it  on  my  mind  to  write  and  tell 
you  so.  If  you  can  come  and  see  me,  before  that  last  hour 
arrives,  I  shall  receive  you  with  joy.  When  I  am  taken 
from  you,*be  not  surprised,  and  let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled.  Whatever  may  happen,  turn  not  your  eye  back 
upon  the  world.  Look  forward  and  onward  to  the  heavenly 
mansions; — be  strong  in  faith; — fight  courageously  the  bat- 
tles of  the  Lord. 

"  I  remain,  in  love,  your  sister, 

"  Jeanne  M.  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 


OP    MADAME    GUYON.  369 

10.  The  following  letter,  addressed  to  one  of  her  religious 
friends,  was  written,  like  the  preceding,  in  the  year  of  her 
death,  and  probably  only  a  few  weeks  before  that  event. 

"Blois, ,  1717. 

"  To . 

"  I  can  only  say  at  present,  my  dear  friend,  that  my 
physical  sufferings  are  very  severe,  and  almost  without  in- 
termission. It  is  impossible  for  me,  without  a  miraculous 
interposition,  to  continue  long  in  this  world  under  them.  I 
solicit  your  prayers  to  God,  that  I  may  be  kept  faithful  to 
him  in  these  last  hours  of  my  trials. 

"  Last  night,  in  particular,  my  pains  were  so  great  as  to 
call  into  exercise  all  the  resources  and  aids  of  faith.  God 
heard  the  prayer  of  his  poor  sufferer.  Grace  was  trium- 
phant. It  is  trying  to  nature ;  but  I  can  still  say  in  this 
last  struggle,  that  I  love  the  hand  that  smites  me. 

"  I  remember  that,  when  I  was  quite  young,  only  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  I  composed  a  little  song,  in  which  I  ex- 
pressed my  willingness  to  suffer  for  God.  My  heavenly 
Father  was  pleased,  for  wise  purposes,  to  call  me  early  to 
this  kind  of  trial.  A  part  of  the  verses  to  which  I  refer  is 
as  follows  :  — 

By  sufferings  only  can  we  know 

The  nature  of  the  life  we  live ; 
The  trial  of  our  souls,  they  show, 

How  true,  how  pure,  the  love  we  give. 
To  leave  my  love  in  doubt  would  be 
No  less  disgrace  than  misery. 

I  welcome,  then,  with  heart  sincere, 
The  cross  my  Saviour  bids  me  take  : 

No  load,  no  trial  is  severe, 

That 's  borne  or  suffered  for  his  sake  : 


370  LIFE   AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

And  thus  my  sorrows  shall  proclaim 
A  love  that 's  worthy  of  the  name. 

"  Repeating  my  request  for  an  interest  in  your  supplica- 
tions, I  remain, 

"  Yours,  in  our  Saviour, 

"  Jeanne  M.  B.  de  ,a  Mothe  Guton." 

11.  The  following  appears  to  have  been  written  to  an 
ecclesiastic,  in  whose  religious  character  and  labors  she  had 
great  confidence  and  hopes. 

"  Blois, ,  1717. 

"  Dear  and  Reverend  Brother  in  Christ, 

"  I  have  had  a  great  desire  that  your  life  might  be 
spared.  Earnestly  have  I  asked  it  of  the  Lord,  if  it  were 
his  will,  because  it  seemed  to  me  to  have  a  connection 
with  the  progress  of  his  work  in  the  world.  In  respect 
to  my  own  situation,  all  I  can  say  is,  that  my  life  seems 
to  me  to  hang  on  a  slender  thread.  I  make  no  account 
of  its  continuance ;  although  I  know  well  that  God  can 
raise  me  up  in  a  moment,  if  he  has  any  thing  further 
for  one  who  accounts  herself  as  nothing,  to  do  here  in  the 
world.  If  my  work  is  done,  I  think  I  can  say,  I  am  ready 
to  go.  In  the  language  of  the  Proverb,  I  have  already 
*  one  foot  in  the  stirrup,'  and  am  willing  to  mount  and  be 
gone,  as  soon  as  my  heavenly  Father  pleases. 

"  I  take  the  liberty  to  send  through  you  my  affectionate 
salutations  to  our  friend  B.  and  his  family  ;  and,  in  behalf  of 
all  our  common  friends,  it  is  my  earnest  prayer  that  God 
would  be  all  things  to  them.  Let  us  all  say  with  one  accord, 
Adveniat  regnum  tuum  ;  Thy  kingdom  come.  Some- 
times this  kingdom,  in  consequence  of  the  prevalence  of 
wickedness  among  men,  has  the  appearance  of  being  at  a 
distance.     But  the  darkness  of  the  times  does  not  extin- 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  371 

guish  the  light  of  faith.     In  his  own  good  time,  God  will  put 
a  stop  to  the  torrent  of  iniquity.     Out  of  the  general  corrup- 
tion,  he  will  draw  a  chosen  people,  whom  he  will  conse 
crate  to  himself.      Oh  that  his  will  might  always  be  done ! 
This  is  all  we  can  desire. 

"  I  will  close  with  only  adding,  that  it  is  impossible  for 
me  to  express  the  regard  and  love  which  our  friends  in  this 
place  have  for  you. 

"  Yours,  in  our  common  Lord, 

"Jeanne  Marie  B.  de  la  Mothe  Guyon." 

12.  On  the  character  of  Madame  Guyon,  of  which  this 
whole  personal  history  is  an  illustration,  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  add  much  here.  Her  writings  indicate,  in  some 
particulars,  a  defect  of  education ;  but  they  illustrate  the 
greatness  of  her  intellectual  power.  Without  such  power 
it  would  not  have  been  possible  for  her  to  have  exerted 
the  personal  influence  which  so  remarkably  attended  her. 
Whatever  company  she  might  be  in,  such  was  her  quick- 
ness of  perception  and  her  natural  flow  of  language,  that  her 
mind  could  hardly  fail  to  take  an  ascendant  position.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  natural  disposition,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
listened  to  her  conversation,  to  yield  to  that  mental  superior- 
ity which  God  had  given  her.  The  power  which  character- 
ized her  conversation  was  not  less  obvious  in  her  writings. 
Though  written,  for  the  most  part,  under  the  most  disadvan- 
tageous circumstances,  they  are  full  of  thought ;  and  of  such 
thought  and  such  relations  of  thought  as  are  sure  to  excite 
both  thought  and  feeling  in  others. 

Her  powers  of  imagination,  as  well  as  her  powers  of  per- 
^eption  and  reasoning,  were  very  great.  They  gave,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  a  somewhat  peculiar  character  to  her  concep- 
tions and  her  modes  of  expression ;  so  much  so  that  it  is 
often  necessary  to  compare  one  passage  with  another,  and 


372  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

sometimes  to  modify  the  expressions,  in  order  to  reach  the 
true  meaning. 

13.  But  if  her  intellect  was  of  the  highest  order,  it  is 
true  nevertheless,  it  was  her  rich  and  overflowing  heart, 
renovated  and  sanctified  by  the  grace  of  God,  which  gave 
the  crowning  beauty  to  her  character.  Her  religion  was 
the  religion  of  God.  It  was  nothing  of  man's  devising  ;  no 
patchwork  of  human  ingenuity,  inscribed  over  with  hints 
and  recognitions  of  man's  merits.  It  is  difficult  to  read  her 
life  and  writings,  without  a  distinct  feeling  that  her  soul  was 
the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Those  who  were  with  her 
during  her  life,  those  who  saw  her  and  conversed  with  her, 
felt  it  to  be  so.  And  this  was  the  great  secret,  whatever 
may  have  been  her  natural  powers,  of  the  remarkable  reli- 
gious influence  which  attended  her.     God  was  with  her. 

14.  Madame  Guyon  seems  to  me  to  have  been  a  clear 
and  remarkable  illustration  of  the  sanctifying  results  of  reli- 
gion, in  distinction  from  its  merely  justifying  power.  Would 
it  be  reasonable  to  doubt,  in  view  of  the  facts  of  this  narra- 
tive, that  she  herself  was  the  subject  of  that  assurance  of 
faith,  and  of  that  pure  or  perfect  love,  the  necessary  result 
of  perfect  faith,  which  she  so  long  and  ably  advocated,  and 
for  which  she  was  so  willing  to  suffer  ?  It  must  be  admitted 
that  it  is  difficult  to  describe,  in  any  mere  form  of  words,  the 
nature  of  perfect  love.  In  order  to  be  known  in  its  own 
nature,  considered  as  an  act  or  state  of  the  inward  affections, 
it  must  be  experienced.  But  the  mere  fact  of  the  existence 
of  such  love  can  always  be  known  in  one  way.  It  always 
exists ;  and  such  are  the  laws  of  the  mind,  that  it  always 
must  exist,  where  there  is  a  perfect  union  of  the  will  with 
the  will  of  tne  beloved  object.  He  whose  heart  is  in  such  a 
state,  that  he  patiently  and  lovingly  submits  to  all  that  God 
imposes,  and  desires  nothing  and  wills  nothing  but  what 
r-r^  <3e".H><*  and  wills,  is  in  perfect  love.     The  position  of 


OF    MADAME    GTJYON.  .>7:> 

the  will,  which  is  the  true  exponent  of  the  affections,  is 
known  both  by  consciousness  and  by  the  outward  life. 
Judged  by  the  life,  which  is  the  test  the  Saviour  seems  to 
have  applied  more  frequently  than  any  other  to  his  own 
character,  we  may  assert,  with  as  much  confidence  as  it  is 
allowed  to  fallible  beings  to  assert  in  any  case,  that  her 
heart  was  wholly  given  to  God.  The  natural  life  was  dis- 
placed, and  a  new  life  came  into  its  place.  And  what  was, 
or  could  be,  that  new  life,  but  that  of  supreme  attachment  to 
God? 

The  doctrine  of  Sanctification  as  well  as  of  Justification, 
will  in  due  time  have  its  philosophical  and  practical,  as  well 
as  its  exegetical  exposition.  And  all  will  be  tested,  and 
must  be  tested,  so  far  as  we  can  perceive,  by  living  exam- 
ples. As  the  light  of  holiness  arises  upon  the  world,  and  as 
the  names  of  those  whose  lives  have  been  practical  illustra- 
tions of  a  pure  and  perfected  love,  become  more  and  more 
dear  to  the  church,  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  name 
of  Madame  Guyon  will  be  overlooked  or  forgotten.  For- 
getful of  herself,  she  had  no  purpose,  no  desire,  of  being  re- 
membered. But  he  who  forgets  himself  in. the  purity  and 
strength  of  his  love  for  another,  necessarily  writes  his  memo- 
rial in  the  heart  and  in  the  acts  of  the  being  beloved.  It  is 
for  this  reason,  that  God  has  thrown  the  protection  of  his 
providence  around  the  beauty  of  her  memory,  because  grace 
had  made  the  heart  and  the  honor  of  his  "  maid-servant " 
identical  with  his  own. 

15.  In  the  closing  part  of  her  Biography,  we  find  some 
parting  counsels  and  encouragements  to  those  then  living,  to 
whom  she  had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  promoting  their  advance- 
ment in  sanctification.  She  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  those 
who  sustained  this  relation  to  her,  her  children.  The 
remarks  to  which  we  refer  are  as  follows  :  —  - 
vol.  ii.  32 


374  LIFE    AND    RELI^fOUS    EXPERIENCE 

"  Nothing  is  greater  than  God ;  nothing  is  less  than  my- 
self. God  is  rich  ;  I  am  poor.  And  yet,  being  rich  in  God, 
I  want  nothing.  To  me  life  and  death  are  the  same  ;  be- 
cause I  desire  nothing  but  what  God  desires.  God  is  Love. 
All  good  is  in  him  ;  all  good  is  for  him. 

"  My  children  in  the  gospel !  Many  things  have  been 
said  in  relation  to  myself.  I  will  not  deceive  or  mislead 
you.  It  belongs  to  God  to  enlighten  you,  and  to  give  you 
either  esteem  or  disesteem  for  myself.  The  particular 
labors  of  my  past  life,  what  I  have  said  and  what  I  have 
written,  have,  in  a  considerable  degree,  passed  away  from 
my  recollection.  Giving  myself  to  the  present  moment,  and 
the  duty  which  now  is,  I  remember  but  little  or  nothing  in 
relation  to  them.  I  leave  them  all  with  God.  Separate 
from  God,  I  want  neither  justification  nor  esteem.  I  want 
only  to  keep  my  place,  and  to  go  no  more  out  from  that 
place  and  that  duty  which  God  assigns  ;  and  thus  to  remain 
established  in  the  great  and  divine  Centre.  I  want  nothing, 
therefore,  but  God  and  his  glory.  Let  him,  therefore,  glo- 
rify himself,  just  as  he  sees  best,  either  by  establishing  my 
reputation  among  men,  or  by  destroying  it.  In  his  will  they 
are  the  same  to  me ;  bearing  equal  weight  in  the  balance. 

"  My  dear  children !  Christ  is  the  truth.  And  if  I 
have  spoken  truth  to  you,  it  is  because  I  have  spoken  what 
Christ  has  spoken.  I  pray  God  to  enlighten  you  always,  to 
give  you  by  his  illuminating  influences  the  clear  discern- 
ment of  his  holy  will,  that  no  false  light  may  ever  lead  you 
to  the  precipice.  Holy  Father,  sanctify  them  through  thy 
truth. 

"  Christ  said,  in  reference  to  his  disciples :  —  For  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself  that  they  also  may  be  sanctified 
through  the  truth:'  Oh,  blessed  Saviour!  say  the  same 
thing  in  behalf  of  these,  thy  little  ones.  Sanctify  thyself,  by 
being  a  holy  life  in   their  spirits,  in  them  and  for  them. 


OF    MADAME    GUYON.  375 

Teach  thein,  that  they  also  are  sanctified,  when  they  have 
all  things  from  Thee,  and  nothing  from  themselves ;  when, 
in  the  possession  of  nothing  they  can  call  their  own,  they 
have  that  holiness  which  Thou  alone  canst  give. 

"  My  children  !  Let  Christ  alone  be  all  in  all,  in  and  for 
us  ;  in  order  that  the  work  of  sanctification,  resting  upon  the 
basis  of  divine  truth,  may  be  carried  on  and  perfected  in  our 
souls.  To  Christ  belongs  all  wisdom,  all  strength,  all  great- 
ness, all  power  and  glory.  To  ourselves,  considered  as  sep- 
arate from  Christ,  belongs  nothing  but  poverty,  emptiness, 
weakness,  and  misery.  Let  us,  then,  while  we  recognize 
and  abide  in  our  nothingness,  pay  homage  to  the  power  and 
the  holiness  of  Christ.  In  this  way  we  shall  find  all  that  we 
want.  If,  in  the  spirit  of  self-reliance,  we  seek  any  thing 
out  of  Christ,  then  we  are  not  his  true  followers.  The  truth 
abideth  not  in  us.  We  deceive  ourselves  ;  and  in  that  state 
shall  never  become  the  true  saints  of  God. 

"  Holy  Father !  I  now  commit  these  children  into  thy 
hands.  Hear  the  prayer  of  thine  handmaid.  Keep  them 
in  thy  truth,  that  the  lie  may  not  come  near  them.  To 
assume  any  merit  out  of  Thee,  to  attribute  any  merit  to 
one's  self,  is  to  be  in  the  lie.  Make  them  know  this  to  be 
the  great  truth,  of  which  Thou  art  jealous.  All  language 
which  deviates  from  this  principle,  is  falsehood.  He  who 
speaks  only  of  the  all  of  God,  and  nothing  of  the 
creature,  is  in  the  truth ;  and  the  truth  dwelleth  in  him ; 
usurpation  and  selfishness  being  banished  from  his  heart. 
My  children,  receive  this  from  one  who  has  been  to  you  as 
a  mother ;  and  it  will  procure  you  life.  Receive  it  through 
her,  but  not  as  for  her ;  but  as  of  and  for  God.     Amen. 

"  Glory  be  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

16.  In  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  March,  1717,  she 
had  a  very  severe  attack  of  sickness,  from  which  she  never 
recovered.      During  her  sickness  she  conversed   with   her 


37 G  LIFE    AND    RELIGIOUS    EXPERIENCE 

friends,  and  wrote  a  few  letters ;  but  she  had  no  doubt  that 
her  labors  were  drawing  to  a  close.  God's  hour,  that  hour 
to  which  she  had  long  looked  with  interest,  had  arrived. 
Already  those  with  whom,  either  as  friends  or  as  enemies, 
she  had  been  associated  in  the  earlier  part  of  her  life,  Harlai, 
La  Combe,  Fenelon,  Beauvilliers,  Bossuet,  the  powerful 
monarch  of  France,  all  had  been  called  hence.  At  last, 
the  summons  came  to  her  also.  She  received  it  without 
surprise,  and  without  repugnance.  She  went  down  -to  the 
grave,  as  her  life  would  lead  us  to  anticipate,  in  perfect  re- 
signation and  peace.  She  had  given  her  soul  to  God ;  and 
God  received  her.  No  clouds  rested  upon  her  vision ;  —  no 
doubts  perplexed  the  fulness  of  her  hope  and  joy.  At  half 
past  eleven  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  night  of  June,  1717, 
she  died  ;  aged  sixty-nine  years. 

17.  A  short  time  before  her  death  she  wrote  a  will;  — 
from  which  the  following  passage  is  an  extract.  It  is  an 
affecting  evidence  of  the  depth  of  her  piety ;  and  that  she 
relied  on  Jesus  Christ  alone :  — 

"in  the  name 
op  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 

"  This  is  my  last  will  and  testament,  which  I  request  my 
executors,  who  are  named  within,  to  see  executed. 

« It  is  to  Thee,  O  Lord  God  !  that  I  owe  all  things  ;  and 
it  is  to  Thee,  that  I  now  surrender  up  all  that  I  am.  Do 
with  me,  O  my  God  !  whatsoever  thou  pleasest.  To  Thee, 
in  an  act  of  irrevocable  donation,  I  give  up  both  my  body 
and  my  soul,  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  thy  will.  Thou 
seest  my  nakedness  and  misery  without  Thee.  Thou  know- 
est,  that  there  is  nothing  in  heaven,  or  on  earth,  that  I  de- 
sire but  Thee  alone.  Within  thy  hands,  0  God !  I  leave  my 
soul,  not  relying  for  my  salvation  on  any  good  that  is  in  me, 
but  solely  on  thy  mercies,  and  the  merits  and  sufferings  of 
my  lord  Jesus  Christ." 


OF   MADAME    GUYON.  377 

18.  She  was  sincerely  lamented  by  her  relatives,  and  her 
numerous  personal  friends  and  acquaintances.  Many  pious 
hearts  were  deeply  affected.  Her  remains  were  interred  in 
the  church  of  the  Cordeliers,  at  Blois,  where  a  monument 
was  erected  to  her  memory  with  a  beautiful  Latin  inscrip- 
tion upon  it.  Such  a  departure,  preceded  by  such  a  life  as 
we  have  described,  might  be  called  a  transition  rather  than 
death.  It  is  proper,  indeed,  to  say,  that  she  died  ;  but  it  is 
equally  proper  to  say,  that  she  went  home. 

"  Rest,  gentle  spirit,  rest ! 

Thy  conflicts  o'er ;  thy  labors  done 
Angels  thy  friends  ;  thy  home 
The  presence  of  the  Holy  One." 


VOL.  II.  32 


NOTE. 


The  following  Catalogue  of  the  published  works  of  Ma- 
dame Guyon,  with  some  explanatory  remarks,  is  found  in 
the  French  edition  of  her  Autobiography. 

1. — La  Sainte  Bible,  ou  VAncien  et  le  Nouveau  Testament, 
avec  des  explications  et  reflexions  qui  regardent  la  vie  int£- 
rieure.     20  vol.     Paris,  1790. 

2. — Discours  Chretiens  et  Spirituels  sur  divers  sujets  qui 
regardent  la  vie  interieure,  tires  la  plupart  de  l'Ecriture 
Sainte.    2  vol.  ibid. 

3. — Ses  Opuscules  Spirituels,  contenant  le  moyen  court  et 
tres-facile  de  faire  oraison.  Les  Torrens  Spirituels,  &c. 
2  vol.  ibid. 

4. — Justifications  de  la  Doctrine  de  Madame  de  la  Mothe- 
Guyon,  pleinement  eclaircie,  demontree,  et  autorisee  par 
les  Sts.  Peres  Grecs,  Latins,  et  Auteurs  canonises  ou  ap- 
prouves ;  ecrites  par  elle-meme.  Avec  un  examen  de  la 
neuvieme  et  dixieme  Conferences  de  Cassien  sur  l'etat  fixe 
de  l'oraison  continuelle ;  par  M.  de  Fenelon,  Archeveque  de 
Cambray.    3  vol.    ibid. 

Cet  ouvrage  contient  le  parallele  et  l'accord  parfait  de  la 
Doctrine  de  Madame  Guyon,  avec  celle  des  St.  Peres ;  et  on 
y  trouve  une  infinite  de  citations  des  plus  grand  Saints,  qui 
eclaircissent  toutes  les  difficultes  qui  regardent  la  vie  inte- 
rieure. 

5.  Poesies  et  Gantiques  Spirituels,  sur  divers  sujets  qui 
regardent  la  vie  interieure,  ou  l'esprit  du  vrai  Christianisme. 
4  vol.    ibid. 


380  NOTE. 

6. — VAme  Amante  de  son  Dieu,  representee  dans  les 
Emblemes  de  Hermannus  Hugo  sur  ses  pieux  desirs,  dans 
ceux  d'Othon  Vaenius  sur  l'amour  Divin,  avec  des  fig.  nou- 
velles,  accompagnees  de  vers  qui  en  font  l'application  aux 
dispositions  les  plus  essentielles  de  la  vie  interieure.  Un  vol. 
ibid. 

7. — Set  Vie,  ecrite  par  elle-meme,  qui  contient  toutes  les 
experiences  de  la  Vie  interieure,  depuis  ses  commencemens 
jusqu'a  la  plus  haute  consommation.   3  vol.   ibid. 

8. — Lettres  Ghretiennes  et  Spirituelles  sur  divers  sujets 
qui  regardent  la  Vie  interieure,  ou  1' Esprit  du  vrai  Chris- 
tianisme.  Nouvelle  edit,  augmentee  et  enrichie  d'un  cin- 
quieme  volume,  contenant  la  correspondance  secrette  de 
l'Auteur  avec  M.  de  F^nelon,  etc.  laquelle  n'avoit  jamais 
paru,  et  precedee  d'anecdotes  tres-interressant^s.  In-douze, 
5  vols.     Londres,  1768. 

Un  grand  nombre  de  ces  lettres  ont  ete  addressees  au 
Comte  de  Metternich,  au  Marquis  de  Fenelon,  et  a  nombre 
de  Dames  de  la  premiere  quality. 


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